So how do you get your gas and electricity disconnected so you don't pay standing charge?

[LaurieFairyCake]

Is literally what a family asked me today

Their standing charges are going to be £40-£50 a month so they want it disconnected

I did not know the answer to that so I've kicked the query to someone else (not my area at all) but I figure someone on here will know

I didn't even think you were allowed to ...

Have the meter removed but keep the pipework if living in rented accomodation.

Make a note of the meter removal date plus the meter reading for future reference.

People used to cook on wood burning stoves/fires. Hugh Fernley-Wittingstall used one in at least one of the series at River cottage.
Candles for light.
Lots of warm clothes.
It's not something you'd want to be doing unless you were fit and active.

I can't remember the name but there used to be one (maybe still is?) The cost per unit is high but there's no standing charge

@EmmaH2022 E

Higher price for the first block so it probably works out similar although not if you don’t use it.

Seems strange as the current standing charge is, 27.22p gas and 45.34p electric, so for 31 day month that's £22.50.

We attempted to have our gas meter removed a few years ago as we have a stove for heat & hot water in the winter. The gas was capped but after 3 separate days of waiting for the supplier to remove the meter they never did and wouldn’t come out. We still have a meter and every 3 months we get a bill for an outstanding amount (the standing charge). A phone call to EON next has the account cleared but this has been ongoing for a few now and is a pain. Many attempts at sorting it and I guarantee the same bill turns up for the standing charge despite knowing we don’t use gas.

Yes, I pay more per unit for my first 2kwh I think, that I use daily and then it drops to a lower unit price.
Only available on smart meters though through my provider.

It's a guessing game!

if you mean Eon or EDF, I'm going to guess you have a smart meter and maybe the standing charge isn't on there?

we'd all be switching to suppliers with no standing charge if there was one?

I'm guessing this company:
www.e.org/switching-to-us

E seems to use prepayment meters

Thanks NewBoots

Yep - from their FAQ
"Smart meters are free of charge and mean you can top up from the comfort of your home or on the go and you don’t need to worry about keeping track of your key or card. Our Smart customers do not pay a standing charge which means they do not pay anything on days when they consume no gas or electricity. They also have access to £15 emergency credit."

The only way to get the standing charges removed is to get the meters removed.

If there is no meter they can't charge for mop dc or mam charges.

You would need to get both meters ripped out and then if they wanted a supply again they would have to pay for new meters to be fitted.

No other way that I am aware of.

I work in this industry.

I'm with Utilita, but yes on a prepayment meter.

So they don't charge any standing charges for gas and elec if you pay by direct debit?

Apologies I am sure this is wrong. They would need to pay for an export and import meter mop and dc.

Unless they are literally off grid completely? But that is so rare! In my experience anyway and happy to be told I am wrong. I've just never come across it before! Good on them if they have managed to do this.

Could someone please explain why the standing charge had increased? I understand the cost of G&E can raise.

However ''A standing charge covers the cost of supplying your property with gas and electricity. Think of it as a line rental, but for your energy.''

How can this go up so much, genuinely cannot get my head round it.

Standing charge was also increased to help pay for all the energy companies that went bust and costs of moving them to other suppliers

I work in the industrial and commercial side. We haven't upped any of our standing charges at present. For about five years.

I have to admit I don't know that much about the domestic side. Just bits and pieces.

Does anyone know if you are a domestic property, can you choose your own mop and dcda?

@NewBootsAndRanty

I'm with Octopus. I swapped to them in March and fixed the rate for a year. They have masses of different tariffs and seem to change them quite often. I'm not sure what they are currently offering to new customers.

If it's not possible to change provider it might nevertheless be possible to change to a different tariff that better suits your circumstances. A friend also with Octopus has changed to a different tariff today.

Exactly this. Thank you Martin Lewis.

He encouraged everyone to save £100 a year by switching to mickey mouse energy supplier and they've now gone bust because they sold their energy too cheaply.

We are now all paying more to cover the cost of this.

This is just the increased standing charge btw. I'm not blaming him for all the price rises lol

£70pm does not sound right at all... that's what ours was for gas and electric last year, and while we don't use it excessively we certainly were not frugal.

No-one forced anyone to run a business badly or offer utilities for less than it cost to supply and for a good few years I was a serial switcher who flipped between the two Mickey Mouse suppliers of Scottish Power and E.on. The savings were usually quite a bit more than £100 a year too.

Thanks @Fifthtimelucky - I'm with them already (joined in july and stupidly didn't fix). The best they can offer me is their 12mth loyalty fix, so s/c of 48.26p/ 66.92p/kwh for electricity and s/c 27.22p and 18.74p/kwh for gas.