Electricity standing charge increases during contract?

[LiveAndLetPly]

Hello,

I signed up to an electricity supply contract with Scottish Power in February with a standing charge of 81p/day (+VAT). Soon after, SP increased this to 201p/day, a massive increase.

As a small (one man) business, which is still finding its feet, this is hitting me hard.

SP say that they are entitled to do this as although the tariff is nominally fixed, the contract does allow for"non-commodity related increase". This sounds like a very slippery clause, as it allows them to ramp up their charges at will. With hindsight I'd not have agreed to it. It feels like I was sucked in by a reasonable charge and then gouged at the first opportunity.

It feels like a very sharp practice, especially as I see other suppliers are charging around 40p/day (BG Lite)

Has anyone else had experience of standing charge increases during a contract?
If so, were they by a similar amount?
If anyone else is with SP, I'd be very interested to know what you're being charged.

Thank you.

 

[paulears]

Sadly typical of Scottish power. Find out how much it will cost to move - they're slippery and very, very unhelpful. I was pleased to get away from them. Work out how much the new charge will cost you vs what their penalty is.

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Sadly typical of Scottish power. Find out how much it will cost to move - they're slippery and very, very unhelpful. I was pleased to get away from them. Work out how much the new charge will cost you vs what their penalty is.

Thanks for your input. I asked them before if I could exit the contract, they said absolutely no. Did you get away from SP during a contract?

 

[AlanJ1]

I asked them before if I could exit the contract, they said absolutely no. Did you get away from SP during a contract?

Check your contract, they are making a change by increasing, a lot allow you to exit if they do this.

 

[Stephen Ball]

Scottish Power are indeed (unfortunately) very commonly changing supply rates mid-contract, and we have seen many similar to yours whereby the standing charge increases. Did the unit rates decrease, or did they stay the same?

We also presume the change in price didn't come with any explanation as to which non-commodity costs have resulted in this change?

 

[paulears]

Thanks for your input. I asked them before if I could exit the contract, they said absolutely no. Did you get away from SP during a contract?

No to be honest I had two months to go and just paid and went to octopus business who have been so much better

 

[Stephen Ball]

No to be honest I had two months to go and just paid and went to octopus business who have been so much better

We're hearing good things about Octopus paulears. Just out of interest what would you say makes them so good from your perspective as a customer?

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

No to be honest I had two months to go and just paid and went to octopus business who have been so much better

I tried to go with Octopus originally but they said they can't supply my location. I really don't understand why, as the "suppliers" don't physically ever go to the customers.

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

We're hearing good things about Octopus paulears. Just out of interest what would you say makes them so good from your perspective as a customer?

Do you know what they are charging you at present?

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Scottish Power are indeed (unfortunately) very commonly changing supply rates mid-contract, and we have seen many similar to yours whereby the standing charge increases. Did the unit rates decrease, or did they stay the same?

We also presume the change in price didn't come with any explanation as to which non-commodity costs have resulted in this change?

Correct, they can't/won't explain which non commodity costs have changed to cause a 147% increase. Directors' bonuses? The unit prices have remained the same, or within a penny per kwh.

Why are electricity prices for businesses so hard to find and compare? Are there any suppliers who publish their prices transparently?

 

[Stephen Ball]

Correct, they can't/won't explain which non commodity costs have changed to cause a 147% increase. Directors' bonuses? The unit prices have remained the same, or within a penny per kwh.

Why are electricity prices for businesses so hard to find and compare? Are there any suppliers who publish their prices transparently?

Ok, so to help you out it'll likely be non-commodity costs such as distribution charges, balancing charges and transmission charges. A one-pager from them giving customers a clear explanation of which charges have gone up would be very easy, or even a link to a web-page. It's not much to ask is it - just a clear, transparent reason?

We think most customers would understand prices rises, if they were just given the relevant information.

I'm glad you've asked about the clear pricing - and I hope you don't mind the plug but that is exactly why we created quoterunner.co.uk.

It doesn't compare all suppliers, but it does:
- compare prices from up to 12 suppliers (so far).
- show business electricity and gas prices without requiring customers to enter their contact details (so customers don't need to fear endless callbacks and follow up emails).
- show prices that exclude broker commission - so doesn't add massive broker commissions on top, and therefore compares them all fairly (not just showing the ones which suppliers let brokers add the most commission). It instead takes a direct-fee model of a one-off £49.99 for processing the contract.

 

[japancool]

balancing charges

What are they?

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Ok, so to help you out it'll likely be non-commodity costs such as distribution charges, balancing charges and transmission charges. A one-pager from them giving customers a clear explanation of which charges have gone up would be very easy, or even a link to a web-page. It's not much to ask is it - just a clear, transparent reason?

We think most customers would understand prices rises, if they were just given the relevant information.

I'm glad you've asked about the clear pricing - and I hope you don't mind the plug but that is exactly why we created quoterunner.co.uk.

It doesn't compare all suppliers, but it does:
- compare prices from up to 12 suppliers (so far).
- show business electricity and gas prices without requiring customers to enter their contact details (so customers don't need to fear endless callbacks and follow up emails).
- show prices that exclude broker commission - so doesn't add massive broker commissions on top, and therefore compares them all fairly (not just showing the ones which suppliers let brokers add the most commission). It instead takes a direct-fee model of a one-off £49.99 for processing the contract.

I don't mind the plug, I'll have a look. I'm fed up with these companies who say they'll show you a price comparison and then proceed instead to bombard me with calls multiple times a day asking how I'm doing, how is everything going, etc. (as if they care!).

These "non-commodity costs" seem to be a complete license for energy suppliers to rake in extra profits. There is no way SP's costs went up 147% between me signing a contract in February, and March. And there is no way to justify them charging me 500% more than other suppliers are charging. This is rampant exploitation of small consumers by a big multi national and I'll vote for any party who has a plan to make the energy markets work for consumers.

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

I don't mind the plug, I'll have a look. I'm fed up with these companies who say they'll show you a price comparison and then proceed instead to bombard me with calls multiple times a day asking how I'm doing, how is everything going, etc. (as if they care!).

These "non-commodity costs" seem to be a complete license for energy suppliers to rake in extra profits. There is no way SP's costs went up 147% between me signing a contract in February, and March. And there is no way to justify them charging me 500% more than other suppliers are charging. This is rampant exploitation of small consumers by a big multi national and I'll vote for any party who has a plan to make the energy markets work for consumers.

I have done the maths, and it would actually be cheaper (or at least no more expensive) for me buy a diesel generator and use that to power my workshop. And that's with most of the cost being tax on the fuel!

 

[Stephen Ball]

What are they?

Great question japancool!

They are officially called 'Balancing Services Use of System' charges, or abbreviated to BSUoS charges in the industry.

They are charges imposed by National Grid for balancing the grid, because electricity demanded should (ideally) equal the amount of electricity generated at any given time. Otherwise, there will either be blackouts (if too little electricity is generated vs demand, and so really not great) or excess electricity generated which is wasteful and harmful to the grid.

As we start to generate more power using renewable sources, such as solar and wind, this proportion of generated energy is less predictable, especially compared to routine generation like gas and nuclear which is fairly consistent.

So, National Grid need to constantly balance the system from increasingly unpredictable sources - and it's this that is costing a LOT more than it did historically.

Plus, the way these charges are imposed has changed. In previous years, some generators contributed to the BSUoS charges. However they are now solely charged to suppliers, and so these charges are being passed onto customers.

That's about as short as we can make it I'm afraid, but hope it was useful!

 

[Stephen Ball]

I don't mind the plug, I'll have a look. I'm fed up with these companies who say they'll show you a price comparison and then proceed instead to bombard me with calls multiple times a day asking how I'm doing, how is everything going, etc. (as if they care!).

These "non-commodity costs" seem to be a complete license for energy suppliers to rake in extra profits. There is no way SP's costs went up 147% between me signing a contract in February, and March. And there is no way to justify them charging me 500% more than other suppliers are charging. This is rampant exploitation of small consumers by a big multi national and I'll vote for any party who has a plan to make the energy markets work for consumers.

Your first comment is music to our ears LiveAndLetPly. What you describe is exactly what we wanted to NOT do. We based it on a model like searching for holidays. You just want to search and compare to start off with, and might take a few tries, look around, and make an informed decision. If you want to go for the deal, you'll come back, and at that point will submit your details. Business energy is the same - the price you are quoted is not dependent on your phone number or email - so there's no need to ask for it upfront.

Your second comment is also warranted, especially without explanation by Scottish Power. It would be very interesting if they would even entertain giving you a specific and clear explanation if you ask. Unfortunately, that might be a futile exercise.

I feel you'll also vote with your feet upon expiry of the Scottish Power contract, which they will learn, but likely after the fact as many other customer may leave for the same reasons.

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Great question japancool!

They are officially called 'Balancing Services Use of System' charges, or abbreviated to BSUoS charges in the industry.

They are charges imposed by National Grid for balancing the grid, because electricity demanded should (ideally) equal the amount of electricity generated at any given time. Otherwise, there will either be blackouts (if too little electricity is generated vs demand, and so really not great) or excess electricity generated which is wasteful and harmful to the grid.

As we start to generate more power using renewable sources, such as solar and wind, this proportion of generated energy is less predictable, especially compared to routine generation like gas and nuclear which is fairly consistent.

So, National Grid need to constantly balance the system from increasingly unpredictable sources - and it's this that is costing a LOT more than it did historically.

Plus, the way these charges are imposed has changed. In previous years, some generators contributed to the BSUoS charges. However they are now solely charged to suppliers, and so these charges are being passed onto customers.

That's about as short as we can make it I'm afraid, but hope it was useful!

Thanks for the explanation about balancing charges. I worked in renewables for a while many years ago and quickly learned that they are not, in the UK at least, a cost effective or dependable source of power. Even the term “renewable” is a misnomer, as vast amounts of fossil fuel are consumed in the production, installation and maintenance of them. Most consumers are totally ignorant of how this.

This aside, how do suppliers justify such wildly varying standing charges? Eg. At home I pay c40p/day, at work I’m paying 200p/day. Other businesses near me are paying 40p/day. How come these huge variations?

 

[Stephen Ball]

...how do suppliers justify such wildly varying standing charges? Eg. At home I pay c40p/day, at work I’m paying 200p/day. Other businesses near me are paying 40p/day. How come these huge variations?

Another good question, and a common one from business users especially.

I'll be able to give a much more detailed answer using your supply as an example if you could just let me know which area of the country you are in please?

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Another good question, and a common one from business users especially.

I'll be able to give a much more detailed answer using your supply as an example if you could just let me know which area of the country you are in please?

I’m in west Scotland. Postcode area PA11 at home, PA15 at work

 

[Stephen Ball]

Ok, so I did have a nice descriptive reply, but I can't post links which makes it pretty difficult, but I'll try.

So I’ll tackle Distribution charges first…

Presuming your 13 digit core Mpan starts with 18 (South Scotland area code). This means you’re in the Scottish Power Networks area (not to be confused with Scottish Power the supplier) I’ll refer to the network company as ‘SP Networks’ to avoid confusion.

SP Networks’ distribution charging statement for April ’22 to March 2023, shows that fixed daily charges ranged from 11.11p to 209.30p for small ‘Non-Domestic Aggregated’ bands. If you're able to confirm what the top right 3 characters/digits are of your mpan are, that'll help confirm your banding (this is where I had some nice links). It might be something like D01, F01, D02, F02, D03, F03, D04, F04. Whatever your number is - that's your banding - 1, 2, 3 4. If it's not one of those codes, just let me know what it is.

(worthwhile noting for other readers - these codes are ONLY applicable to SP Networks for area code 18 and non-half hourly metered). Other areas have different LLF codes.

Now, if we look at those same costs for 2023-24, you’ll see the fixed daily charges for the same supplies range from 25.15p to 323.15p/day.

Band 1 increased by ~14p/day or 126%

Band 2 increased by ~22p/day or 68%

Band 3 increased by ~42p/day or 59%

Band 4 increased by ~114p/day or 54%.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in April 2024-25, they go up again.

This is one of the main reasons why standing charges have increased, because one of the main fixed costs which suppliers in turn incur have gone up, and are forecast to continue going up.

Ok – so that’s Distribution. Now onto Transmission.

Transmission charges are no longer mainly locational-based, and are more spread evenly across all areas.

However, even for small businesses, depending on which Band you are in (identified by your LLF in the exercise above) Transmission charges range from (approximately) £15 per year for Band 1, £75 for Band 2, £180 for Band 3, and a whopping ~£520 for Band 4.

So when both Distribution and Transmission are taken together, you can see why standing charges can vary greatly not only between area, but also type and size of business, and supplier – depending if that supplier’s pricing model builds costs into the standing charge or unit rate (as it is up to them how they actually set their pricing model.

Your ‘banding’ as a business user will depend on whether you are non-half hourly metered (03 or 04 supply profile) or Half Hourly metered (00 supply profile).

If you are non-half hourly metered, then your Banding should be:

Band 1 – if you use less than ~3,571 kWh per year

Band 2 – if you use between 3,571 and 12,553 kWh per year

Band 3 – if you use between 12,553 and 25,279 kWh per year

Band 4 – if you use more than 25,279 kWh per year.

As ~25,000 kWh is not exactly a massive user for a business, many are finding themselves in the highest band.

It’s also a cliff-edge system, that unless there are certain strict circumstances met, you won’t be able to change bands.

 

[paulears]

Octopus seem to have the stock response in some areas of sorry, we cannot supply. In my office I was with a supplier who put everything up. I tried octopus and they said no. However, I called them, said I was a domestic customer, could I change to them for my business and they called back to say yes at a pretty decent price. They just have good customer service - ask them a question and a real human gets in touch. They could not access the meter remotely, so my readings are currently done manually, which they apologise for - but my office has three meters for the entire building in it, all on different suppliers - but the meters are in a basement and I think the cellular coverage has changed and remote read fails for all of us. every month they apologise and ask for a manual reading. Real people who try to help.

 

[Stephen Ball]

... but my office has three meters for the entire building in it, all on different suppliers - but the meters are in a basement and I think the cellular coverage has changed and remote read fails for all of us. every month they apologise and ask for a manual reading. Real people who try to help.

That's good to hear paulears. It's very common for meters in basements to not have a regular or strong enough signal to transmit readings unfortunately. They generally use the mobile network, and just like phones, as soon as you go below ground the signal weakens.

They are starting to change some I believe to IP Protocol, but this might require an unsecured (not password protected) internet provision from the customer. As you can imagine, not many people might be comfortable in NOT password protecting their internet at their business premises!

Other than this, they can install a 'booster' or extension aerial. However I am not sure whether that'll come for free.

 

[paulears]

Yes - many also use the very early 2G networks that are being switched off. Damn annoying though.

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Ok, so to help you out it'll likely be non-commodity costs such as distribution charges, balancing charges and transmission charges. A one-pager from them giving customers a clear explanation of which charges have gone up would be very easy, or even a link to a web-page. It's not much to ask is it - just a clear, transparent reason?

We think most customers would understand prices rises, if they were just given the relevant information.

I'm glad you've asked about the clear pricing - and I hope you don't mind the plug but that is exactly why we created quoterunner.co.uk.

It doesn't compare all suppliers, but it does:
- compare prices from up to 12 suppliers (so far).
- show business electricity and gas prices without requiring customers to enter their contact details (so customers don't need to fear endless callbacks and follow up emails).
- show prices that exclude broker commission - so doesn't add massive broker commissions on top, and therefore compares them all fairly (not just showing the ones which suppliers let brokers add the most commission). It instead takes a direct-fee model of a one-off £49.99 for processing the contract.

I feel strongly that SP have taken advantage of my ignorance of how the charging works to get me to sign up to a contract in the belief that any increases would be minimal, when in fact they have been massive. How is this acceptable legally? Could I challenge this? Do you have any experience of small businesses getting out of energy contracts?

Also, why are energy prices so varied? For any other input I purchase (materials, insurance, fuel, machinery, etc) the prices vary little between suppliers, which indicates a competitive market. Whereas for energy, which one would think is the most standardised of all my inputs (they're all just reselling the same charged electrons coming through the same cables, for heaven's sake!) prices vary wildly. This suggests to me a very uncompetitive (or manipulated) market.

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

I feel strongly that SP have taken advantage of my ignorance of how the charging works to get me to sign up to a contract in the belief that any increases would be minimal, when in fact they have been massive. How is this acceptable legally? Could I challenge this? Do you have any experience of small businesses getting out of energy contracts?

Also, why are energy prices so varied? For any other input I purchase (materials, insurance, fuel, machinery, etc) the prices vary little between suppliers, which indicates a competitive market. Whereas for energy, which one would think is the most standardised of all my inputs (they're all just reselling the same charged electrons coming through the same cables, for heaven's sake!) prices vary wildly. This suggests to me a very uncompetitive (or manipulated) market.

I've looked at quote runner and see big variations in the charges. The best of them are much lower than what I'm currently paying. Are they actually fixed, or are those suppliers also going to try and play the same trick SP has pulled on me?

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Octopus seem to have the stock response in some areas of sorry, we cannot supply. In my office I was with a supplier who put everything up. I tried octopus and they said no. However, I called them, said I was a domestic customer, could I change to them for my business and they called back to say yes at a pretty decent price. They just have good customer service - ask them a question and a real human gets in touch. They could not access the meter remotely, so my readings are currently done manually, which they apologise for - but my office has three meters for the entire building in it, all on different suppliers - but the meters are in a basement and I think the cellular coverage has changed and remote read fails for all of us. every month they apologise and ask for a manual reading. Real people who try to help.

Thanks very much for this info, I will get in contact with them again and see if they can supply my business.

 

[Stephen Ball]

I've looked at quote runner and see big variations in the charges. The best of them are much lower than what I'm currently paying. Are they actually fixed, or are those suppliers also going to try and play the same trick SP has pulled on me?

Thanks for the feedback LiveAndLetPly. Yes you're right in that supplier charges are varying quite wildly at the moment, and it generally boils down to a few things:
1) perceived or actual supplier 'risk' margin. Many costs which suppliers incur are not actually known in advance - even the energy itself sometimes, but when you take into account the non-commodity costs, these are also not known in advance. Therefore suppliers have to make a prediction on many costs, and try to price accordingly. I.e. they incur variable charges - but customers want fixed charges - so there's a big disconnect between the mechanics of the market and what customers want/need.
2) Any corporate desire to gain market share - so at certain times, suppliers might have a drive to gain market share by offering lower-than-the-average rates.
3) Hedging strategy and 'stock' - if suppliers have already purchased large chunks of energy when prices were higher - they either need to try and sell that energy at the higher cost, or make a loss. For example if I bought a tanker load of diesel for £1.80 per litre, when the going rate is now ~£1.60, I can either still try and sell that at £2.00 to make a profit (but not sell much), break even (and still not sell very much), or make a loss and sell it at the going rate.

We find points 1 and 3 are the greatest causes of the variance you'll see in the rates.

In terms of suppliers and them fixing the charges - you are absolutely right to question which are absolutely fixed, as some suppliers don't 100% fix them.

If you're after 100% absolutely fixed, then we'd recommend:
Smartest FIXED (NOT their tracker)
Corona FIXED (Not standard)
SSE PROTECT (Not 'Choice')
British Gas
Eon Next
Yu Energy

If however you had any particular supplier in mind, then by all means let us know what you're thinking either on here or by email beforehand.

 

[clamp1988]

AS an indication in September 1 Business I deal with got a rate of 30.40p/kWh and 30p daily standing charge from Eon.

Unfortunately Utility companies have become a law onto themselves they can pretty much do what they want. Threaten disconnection, charge late payment fees for varying amounts etc.

Another customer was being charged £3/day standing on gas until recently. All of this companies hiding behind a deemed contract

 

[Stephen Ball]

...Another customer was being charged £3/day standing on gas until recently. All of this companies hiding behind a deemed contract

Ahh yes deemed contracts - a great bugbear of the industry - but you're 100% correct.

There is talk of deemed / out of contract rates being capped by Ofgem, but as yet no real movement or idea of how 'capped' they'll be. For example if they just make the cap really high - then there's no real benefit or purpose.

We also believe that many suppliers' deemed rates - those which are charged by the incumbent supplier after moving into a new premises until either a) a new contract is signed, or b) the supply moves to another supplier - are simply outrageous and totally unjustified.

We'd recommend any business stuck on deemed rates to shop around immediately, and also make signing a new energy contract a day 1 task upon moving in (or even beforehand if possible).

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Ahh yes deemed contracts - a great bugbear of the industry - but you're 100% correct.

There is talk of deemed / out of contract rates being capped by Ofgem, but as yet no real movement or idea of how 'capped' they'll be. For example if they just make the cap really high - then there's no real benefit or purpose.

We also believe that many suppliers' deemed rates - those which are charged by the incumbent supplier after moving into a new premises until either a) a new contract is signed, or b) the supply moves to another supplier - are simply outrageous and totally unjustified.

We'd recommend any business stuck on deemed rates to shop around immediately, and also make signing a new energy contract a day 1 task upon moving in (or even beforehand if possible).

Be careful to read all the small print before rushing into a new contract just to avoid the deemed contract - I took on premises last year and was being charged £4.50/day standing charge by the previous tenant's supplier. I rushed into a new contract with Scottish Power which was (I thought) fixed at 80p/day standing charge, but within a few weeks was being charged £2.02/day. All totally in the contract, according to them.

 

[Stephen Ball]

Be careful to read all the small print before rushing into a new contract just to avoid the deemed contract - I took on premises last year and was being charged £4.50/day standing charge by the previous tenant's supplier. I rushed into a new contract with Scottish Power which was (I thought) fixed at 80p/day standing charge, but within a few weeks was being charged £2.02/day. All totally in the contract, according to them.

This still goes to show just how ridiculous the £4.50 per day was, and (just an opinion) totally profiteering. Was the unit rate also high during the deemed period?

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

This still goes to show just how ridiculous the £4.50 per day was, and (just an opinion) totally profiteering. Was the unit rate also high during the deemed period?

I don't know, as I was on the deemed rate from the day I signed the lease and the electricity bills became my problem.
But why should a business pay more than a house just for a standing charge? There's nothing inherently more expensive about it. It's almost like the UK government doesn't want any businesses, except maybe a bit of laptop-work-from-home type of stuff.

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

This still goes to show just how ridiculous the £4.50 per day was, and (just an opinion) totally profiteering. Was the unit rate also high during the deemed period?

Sorry, just re-read and see you were asking about the unit rate, not the standing charge. Yes, it was around 50p/kwh.

 

[Stephen Ball]

But why should a business pay more than a house just for a standing charge? There's nothing inherently more expensive about it. It's almost like the UK government doesn't want any businesses, except maybe a bit of laptop-work-from-home type of stuff.

Aha - that's where the Distribution banding comes in (see thread above). The higher your banding, the higher fixed charges are being incurred by the supplier from the distribution company. So in all fairness to the supplier (sometimes) it's because of the charges they incur in turn. In these cases, it's not the supplier that's causing the high charges, it's the Distribution Network Operator (or 'DNO' as they're known) charging higher amounts for their fixed daily rates.

The good news is that SOME areas are seeing significant reductions in their fixed daily charges from DNOs...from April 2025.

From the thread above whereby if your MPAN starts with the area code 18, fixed daily charges via SP Networks for NHH supplies are changing from (2024-25 to 2025-26) - pence per day.
Band 1 = 31.74p to 18.55p
Band 2 = 64.75p to 30.08p
Band 3 = 132.53p to 55.28p
Band 4 = 377.39p to 145.45p

So, from 2025, you should see a reduction in your standing charge (maybe!)

 

[R&S]

Hi, I know this reply maybe a little late now but it seems QuoteRunner has been pretty thorough in his response. However there are steps you can take to avoid or protect yourself from standing charges increases. It seems to me like the push on the governments green agenda is going to see a continued increase in non-commodity costs. I would recommend getting in touch and we can look into your full business energy profile. What is it that you do?

 

[Ruby Rose]

Hi, My husband just locked into a business electric contract through trility the guys who was dealing with it constantly lied because we wanted a new meter for our tenants and he assured us that you are landlords so you have to sign it and after that we will transfer into their name . On top of that he also put their business in my husband name in the paper. And also in order to ge a new meter lied to Npower about our annual usage . Now we are stuck with 4.69/ day standing charge and if you don't consume it then will be liable to pay 80% of the consumption. Need some advise please !

 

[LiveAndLetPly]

Hi, I know this reply maybe a little late now but it seems QuoteRunner has been pretty thorough in his response. However there are steps you can take to avoid or protect yourself from standing charges increases. It seems to me like the push on the governments green agenda is going to see a continued increase in non-commodity costs. I would recommend getting in touch and we can look into your full business energy profile. What is it that you do?

Hi, just seen this and as my contract with SP is up I thought it might be worth seeing what you could do. I run a small furniture manufacturing business. Things have been quiet lately so usage has been minimal (c. 100 kwh/month), but as things hopefully pick up, that will rise to c. 1000 kph/month or more. Postcode is PA15 4AX. Three phase supply. I'd like to get a 12-18 month contract with absolutely no standing charge increases for the duration.

 

[Stephen Ball]

Hi, My husband just locked into a business electric contract through trility the guys who was dealing with it constantly lied because we wanted a new meter for our tenants and he assured us that you are landlords so you have to sign it and after that we will transfer into their name . On top of that he also put their business in my husband name in the paper. And also in order to ge a new meter lied to Npower about our annual usage . Now we are stuck with 4.69/ day standing charge and if you don't consume it then will be liable to pay 80% of the consumption. Need some advise please !

Are you saying you're with NPower, and the 80% minimum consumption value is with them? It might be worth us looking at the actual contract you agreed so we can comb through it, to either challenge it, or put your mind at ease.

 

[Stephen Ball]

Hi, just seen this and as my contract with SP is up I thought it might be worth seeing what you could do. I run a small furniture manufacturing business. Things have been quiet lately so usage has been minimal (c. 100 kwh/month), but as things hopefully pick up, that will rise to c. 1000 kph/month or more. Postcode is PA15 4AX. Three phase supply. I'd like to get a 12-18 month contract with absolutely no standing charge increases for the duration.

You can check prices online at any time, at www. quoterunner . co . uk. You don't need to submit your personal contact or business details until you've decided if you want to go ahead (So you can be sure you won't go onto an email or call list just because you wanted to search for prices). . No commission added - instead we only charge a one off £49.99 contract processing fee once you want to proceed.

 

[Ruby Rose]

My husband wanted a new meter installed for our next door tenants .. So we were getting call left , right and centre from tritility. We wanted one contract and they offer 3 instead . He is works 7 -6 and they were bombarding him with offers . Anyways they manage to lock us in 4 years contract with £4.69/ day standing charge but what he said on the phone was cheaper. Before all this they promise once its sorted the bill will be in the tenants name . Now the name can't be changed . The business is there's but they put my husband name on the bill and top of that to get commission and a new meter they lied about our consumption too which I don't know how they manage and also if we don't use the meter they will charge us the standing rate plus 80% of the estimated consumption ( is that a thing?). We don't know what to do now as we are stuck with them! Any advise will be helpful thanks