MNHQ Here - Worried about your energy bills? National Energy Action will be here Wednesday 23rd Feb to answer your questions

[JuliaMumsnet]

Hello

You may have seen the recent announcement that energy bills will rise in April, and we know lots of you have been discussing your concerns on Mumsnet. On Wednesday 23rd February from 12pm to 1pm, reps from national fuel poverty charity National Energy Action will be here, live on this thread, to answer your questions about what the rises mean, why they are happening and what you can do.

You can post your questions below in advance, from now, or join the Q&A on the day.

Here's what National Energy Action say:
“There’s no doubt we are in the midst of an energy crisis. In the 40 years since National Energy Action first started we have never seen energy bills this high or so many people at risk of fuel poverty. We hear from people who have to sleep in coats and who simply cannot stay warm at home.

“Most people can’t have helped notice their energy bills rose in October when the price cap was raised. Now it’s due to rise again in April and bills are estimated to increase by over 50%. The average bill will rise from £1277 a year to £1971. Of course, not everyone is average and for some the increase will be much higher. We estimate that by April 6.5 million UK households will be in fuel poverty – that’s one in four. Our summary of the crisis is here: www.nea.org.uk/energy-crisis.

“To mitigate some of the rise the government are planning two measures. If you live in a house in council tax bands A to D you will get £150 in April. Also, all households will receive £200 off their bill from October – but there is a catch. This has to be repaid at the rate of £40 a year over the next five years.

“We’ve been very vocal, telling the government these measures are ‘woefully inadequate’, particularly for those who are in fuel poverty and vulnerable.

“We know with bills rising so high it’s a scary time, so we have Sarah, one of our energy advisers, to answer your questions. We also have Matt, head of policy who can answer questions around the response to the crisis."

www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-is-the-energy-price-cap/
Clicky this time

I currently pay 4.2p/ kWh for gas and 21.7p/kWh for electricity.
What is the maximum these unit rates will rise to in April please

Do you know roughly what you use per year in KWH?
It should be on a recent bill

@cakeorwine I don't know if this will help you. I think the £1971 is inclusive of VAT and calculated as below:

GAS is based on an average of 12,000 kw hours annually:
Daily Standing Charge 365 @ 27.22p =£99.35
12,000 kw hours @.07.37p=£884.40

ELEC is based on an average of 2,900 kw hours annually
Daily Standing Charge 365 @.45.34 = £165.49
2,900 kw hours @ 28.34 p =£831 86

@bellabasset

Don't worry - I know about the charges and all that.

I was trying to see if @HelenaHandcart0 knew her figures so she could work out her new costs.

@cakeorwine According to my bills last year we used 5000kwh of electricity and 12500kwh of gas.
Thanks for looking at the figures.

@bellabasset Thanks for posting the new unit charges.
I don’t know why they don’t just use the kWh unit prices for the caps instead of a fictionalised annual bill!

Place marking

I can't understand why the standing charge for electricity is going up by much more than the fictional 50 odd percent for the average bill.
Lower users of energy will be massively affected by this.
Whatever happened to the no VAT promise from when we left the EU? The government will be now getting a massive increase in the VAT paid as prices have doubled.

As usual it's the large organisations benefiting from this.

For those on renewable electricity. Do you think there is a separate supply for you? Unfortunately it's just another marketing ploy. We all get our electricity from the national grid. When there is insufficient wind gas is used instead.

@Oddbutnotodd
I agree, with both gas and electric we will be paying out £22 a month just for the standing charges, before any usage is taken into account as well! That's going to be 22% of my bill I can do nothing about.

@Oddbutnotodd: I think the increase in the standing charge is due to the shortfall in the levy charged to the energy companies to protect customers deposits. The energy market was privatised back in the 80's. The CEO's of both Centrica and Octopus were discussing the failed companies and said it would cost every consumer £200. This of course is the amount we're all being 'loaned' while the Treasury is still holding onto the extra VAT on the increased prices. As these were private companies who should fund these losses?

Will they stop reporting to credit reference agencies because a lot of people are going to miss payments through no fault of their own.

@Oddbutnotodd

I can't understand why the standing charge for electricity is going up by much more than the fictional 50 odd percent for the average bill. Lower users of energy will be massively affected by this. Whatever happened to the no VAT promise from when we left the EU? The government will be now getting a massive increase in the VAT paid as prices have doubled.

As usual it's the large organisations benefiting from this.

For those on renewable electricity. Do you think there is a separate supply for you? Unfortunately it's just another marketing ploy. We all get our electricity from the national grid. When there is insufficient wind gas is used instead.

Re renewables: there are only three gas powered electricity plants in Scotland, one in Sullom Voe, one in Peterhead, and one in Grangemouth. I am in Ayrshire.

Some other plants are oil or diesel based, with one nuclear plant at Torness, but much electricity generation in Scotland is wind or hydro generated. Indeed, we produce so much we export it, and of course it can be stored when the wind drops. In Scotland, we also produce gas and oil.

So I still wonder why, if my supply is only from renewables as my supplier claims (and indeed should be the case), my bills should be increasing.

Also second the question: What can we do?

First on a personal level, second on a national collective level?

i have prepayment meters and so worried about the rise! I have tried to switch to direct debit but they want a huge upfront fee. Do you have any advice

Most of the right advice has been put out already. The only way we customers can get more help us to get Johnson and his Tories out. Labour promised a windfall tax on the profiteers and that is our only hope of real relief especially as our free market politicians have made us dependent on gas imports.

My fixed rate ends at the end of April. My understanding is that it's better not to try and switch (all the quotes I'm getting for switching to other fixed rates are insanely high anyway, like over £3000 per year) but to stick with my current supplier, let them put me onto their variable which will be capped, and just try to keep my usage down. Can anyone confirm this is correct? I'm on a very low income and worried sick about this, as I imagine so many of us are. I've joined Martin's energy club but nothing has come of that.

Also I have standard meters, is it best to ask my supplier for smart meters? They are currently offering 'free appointments' but I don't know if this means the meters and fitting them are actually free, it seems strange wording.

Thanks if anyone can advise.

How soon is the government going to make sure that distributed heat networks like found in new builds - which we were told were required and much more eco-friendly - be covered by the price cap? We have no choice over supplier as we are not billed for gas directly, but for the hot water that the system produces to heat our homes, and the company seems to be able to charge whatever they like for this. I know that there is a promise that it will be brought under ofgem and regulated but no sign of when - could be several years? Why is there no actual plan for this?

My mum, who is 90 and lives alone has been asked if she wants to go onto a fixed rate of £129.50 per month (from £82)
I can't make head nor tale of the information sent as it doesn't estimate an amount for standard variable tariff.

Would you suggest fixing or not

Why are companies allowed to increase standing charges so much, when the cost of admin and supplying the energy hasn't really increased. This puts unfair burdens on those with small homes, few people, or limited energy use, becasue they can't do anything about the standing charge and it's such a great proportion of their bill. It seems unfair to allow such huge increases in the standing charges and yet blame it on rising energy prices, when it's really just a way for the companies to make money.
If the energy prices were purely based on the amount used, and an extra charge only for necessary admin/supply costs, then people would have more control, and those who use more - in larger houses etc - would pay more. This would give people an incentive to decrease their use.

If the energy prices were purely based on the amount used, and an extra charge only for necessary admin/supply costs, then people would have more control, and those who use more - in larger houses etc - would pay more. This would give people an incentive to decrease their use.
Yes, this would be much fairer!

@Paranoidandroidmarvin

My question is. If they are making so much profit. Why are they hiking up the bills. Unless I’m missing something. I really don’t understand

I second this. Please answer.

Oh and what will happen when inevitably people don't pay their bills? Will more go bust. I'm thinking of refusing to pay more than what we are paying now and many other people I know are thinking the same.

I've moved house recently to a rental and will be moving again in summer to a house I'm buying. Is it best just to ask for bills for the time being and not set up a direct debit?

Tbh I am utterly petrified this increase in the cost of living is going to stop me being reapproved for my mortgage (delay in building house means my offer has timed out).

Hello. Good afternoon. I’m Sarah, an energy advisor at National Energy Action, and my colleague Matt is here too – he’s head of policy. Thank you for all your questions.

The number of questions shows what a difficult time it is at the moment.

As we said in the OP, the current energy crisis will see bills rise by around 54% a year and could mean 6.5 million UK households are in fuel poverty.

It’s something we’re really worried about and we know the number of people coming to us for help is about to increase. We’re also doing all we can to get the government to listen so that the most vulnerable are protected as much as possible.

We’ll do our best to answer as many of your questions as we can.

@LoopyDream

How is it acceptable that in the uk in 2022 we are having to choose between eating and heating?

Hi @LoopyDream, you’re right. It really isn’t. We get so many calls from people who are very worried. Some are going to bed wearing coats, others are only heating one room and turning off their heating when their children are at school.

Even with these measures, many are struggling to pay their bills now and we know it’s going to rise in April and, possibly again in October.

@Svara

A relative will be returning to the UK at the end of the year, a single parent with a young child. If they miss out on the £200 will they still have to pay it back?

Hi @svara

The details are yet to be fully decided but as far as we can see.

@JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon is correct that at the moment the plan is for every household, whether they want it or not, to receive the £200 rebate then pay it back at the rate of £40 over the next five years. It’s a bit of a gamble that energy prices will decrease by then. The £40 repayment will hit the most vulnerable households the hardest and it’s something we are trying to get the government to reconsider.

One of our main suggestions is that we think that Warm Home Discount should be extended and increased to support the most vulnerable. We already know that Warm Homes discount will be increased this year from £140.00 to £150.00 , All pensioners on Pension Credit Guaranteed should benefit from this discount automatically. The Department for Work and Pensions should communicate with your supplier directly.

Suppliers also support a broader group of customers who they see as vulnerable or at risk, if been off supply for long or without heat including families with babies or children under five years old on low incomes and benefits. Every year each supplier resets it eligibility criteria so always worth checking this out. You should look at applying directly with your supplier about August /September time you receive the grant during winter but different suppliers do this at different times. Apply as soon as possible as not all eligible customers will get the grant unfortunately. Some small energy companies do not offer the discount. If you would be eligible with one of the Big Six suppliers (British Gas, EDF Energy, E. ON UK, Octopus, Scottish Power and SSE/OVO) it may be worth considering switching during summer time as this can make a difference to having the heating on or off during winter. www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme

NOTE Utilita have a very short application process window so do watch out in August for the application opening as usually only open for 10 –14 days