an energy cap of 2500 - still double energy bills this winter?

[yih8979kh]

The figure of 2500 a one possible energy cap has been doing the rounds on the media -www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62801913. It's definitely better than 3500 but doesnt that still mean that our energy bills will be double this winter seeing as last winter's cap was 1200? We paid 180 per month last winter, will it be 360 this Dec? Yes, we get 67 pounds off or something but thats still quite a lot more per month than last year.

The wealthy or larger energy users will be subsidized to for each unit of electricity so the largest users get more subsidy from the government. This policy is really stupid and simply penalises people who have done the right thing in preference to those who haven't.

we wont know until thursday

@dreamingofFrance

I will definitely be looking to get my own independent heat source ie fire/woodburner in future!

And indeed this shows the massive flaw in this policy there is no incentive to use energy efficiently. People should pay the market rate. why should the government subsidize gas and electricity and not the heating coal and wood I use? This is blatant populism.

I was paying £70pm last winter and now I'm paying £170pm. I'm on tax credits so I've just received the first lump sum of the £650 cost of living payment which amounts to around £108pm towards the bill if I spread it over 6 months. Add on the £67pm reduction from October and that totals £175. That's my entire bill paid if it does indeed get frozen at the current price, so I won't need to pay anything at all out my own wages! I think I'll put away £170pm for any future increases because I'm paying that now anyway so I won't miss it.

Whatever they do the "evil nasty rich people" will always benefit somehow.

That's inevitable.

Why not worry about what consessions poor get first? They are the absolute priority surely.

As long as the ecconmy keeps going I think we will be fine

As someone on a low income in a small home, this will make me worse off than getting the £400 payment.

As always this is designed to assist those who "have"

It isn’t possible for me to half my energy usage though. I could probably cut somewhere between 15-20% at a guess

People cannot pay the market rate.

We have oil instead of gas for heating and hot water so I'm not getting subsidised either, but at least the electricity will be capped per unit.

However, look the level of stupidity on this and other threads. Look at how many people think that the cap means they cannot he charged more than £2500ish a year no matter how much they use so are planning to have heating on all day, deep hot baths every night. Because they think after the first £2500 it is free.

I dont think that has anything to do with incentivising people to use less. I think that is just plain stupidity from uneducated or uninformed people. And they're going to remain uninformed no matter what the government say or do. They've reached adulthood without understanding that a fixed price is a fix on the price per unit. I think when we see that in the population, we need to realise that people just wont sort themselves out.

If the government capped the first 10kw a day and then the rest could be charged at market rate, people like this wont understand and wonr change their ways. Sort of makes you feel like it is all a lot cause.

They really should have a cap on the first X number of units and then charge anything over that at a higher rate, just like paying tax works but they wont as it is too complication for their voting pool to understand.

I don't understand the CAP. They cant mean every household, what about the huge detached homes?
There can't be 3 bed mid terrace and large 5 bed detached paying the same for energy
That would annoy me as much as the reduced stamp duty during covid - if you can afford an expensive house you can afford the stamp duty.
Yes people need help, but if I have very little left ath the end of the boat then I expect people on the bigger incomes to be hit the same.

See what I mean. It's just stupidity.
People continue to think that the cap applies to the total amount they can charge per year and no one can pay more than £2500.

We have a population of uninformed. This is what we're dealing with.

It will only be that if you don’t reduce your usage. Obviously there are already people using the bare minimum and this isn’t possible for them. But when you see posts about thermostats set at 22, baths/showers twice a day, washing towels after one use, washing bedding multiple times a week…there are a lot of people with scope to use a lot less energy.

Do you ever look at your bill?

You give meter readings and you pay for the amount of energy you use.
It's just the price of each unit is capped

The cap is a cap on the price per unit. Obviously if people use more units, they will pay more.

Please explain how?

They're proposing to hold the price of energy just above the current rates, instead of allowing it to rise by 80% on 1st of October and likely increase again in January. So it's going stay about the same, instead of more than doubling in price.

In a small home and on a low income, you'll use far less than rich people in big houses and the cost of living payments will cover a larger percentage of your energy bill. If you're entitled to the £650 or extra winter fuel allowance as well as the £400 bill credit, it could even be that your whole bill is covered, now that it's likely that prices won't be going up as much as feared.

The £400 won’t be paid back in the same way the £200 subsidy was suggested, but it will likely be ‘paid back’ in some other way.

Do you mean you still don't understand after reading all the posts before yours?

Look at your bill.

Look at how the cost of your energy is worked out.

You pay for each unit of energy you use. It's just that the price of each unit is capped. But the more you use, the more you pay for.

It’s a cap per unit of energy.

The £2,500 is the UK average usually based on the typical usage of a three-bed semi, family of four. A two-bed terrace with a single occupier or couple only should in theory use significantly less. A family of six living in a five-bed detached. Would likely use more.

@HandlebarLadyTash

When they cap energy prices, they are not capping what you can be charged in total. They are not saying that you wont pay more than £2500 no matter how big your house is.

They are capping the price energy companies can charge PER UNIT. Not overall. It is PER UNIT.

if they cap electricity at 60p max charge per unit then for every unit you use, you pay 60p.

If you live in a small house you could use 8KW a day. You'd pay 8 x 60p = £4.80 a day plus the standing charge.
If you live in a mansion and use 30KW a day then you'd pay 30 x 60p = £18 plus the standing charge.

People are not paying the same no matter how big their house is. People are being charged for the energy they use. That energy is charged per unit. The price per unit is capped.

The £2500 a year figure is based on average use. It is what an average house will spend a year when the price cap goes up. It is a meaningless figure really. Millions will spend more and millions will spend less.

I've come to the conclusion that energy pricing is an illustration of the saying 'never try to argue with idiots, because they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience'.

I can't believe that there are people who genuinely think that their annual energy bill is going to be fixed at £2500 and it will be this amount whether they sit in the cold and dark in a one bed flat or are powering a 5 bed detached complete with hot tub and swimming pool.

Have people never even looked at their energy bills before?

What do you think your meters are for?

Do you not buy petrol, mains water, food, or anything else that has a price per unit/item but the amount you pay is related not just to the price per unit/item, but the number that you buy?

I fucking hate these smug replies.
So many have had to be careful for years as they can not afford the old prices. Just because many people are wasteful and can cut usage many can't.

If something is already cut to the bone, there are no further savings to be had.

@BackT

You're getting £400 and they're stopping your bills from going up 80%. They're capping how much you can be charged per unit of energy at a lower rate than the previous predicted levels.

How on earth are you worse off?

The OP was previously paying £180 a month. That is clearly not “cut to the bone”. So the comment about reducing usage is relevant in their case. It wouldn’t be for all.