A basic metric for clear pricing from energy suppliers

[henry1]

Energy price has been a hot topic for a while now. Gov, MPs, charities are all talking about it but what metric are we all using, especially OFGEM? An energy bill for a typical household! I think that's rubbish and meaningless. Are households labelled typical or atypical? Some people even get confused when they hear energy bills will be capped at £2500 (or whatever it is now) and think they won't pay over that.

Have you ever tried to compare prices between suppliers? If the finance industry has their APR metric, why can't we have a kWh figure that we can use to compare suppliers and get important messages across? For instance, you will never pay more than £x per kWh rather than this £2500 confusing average.
We do already have kWh pricing, it's just not comparable and not being used. A bit like those various interests rates and fees in finance in the absence of APR.

Shouldn't that be the first, basic step in bringing clarity and consistency to this murky industry? Or are MPs and gov avoiding this on purpose?
What do you think?

 

[denso13]

why can't we have a kWh figure that we can use to compare suppliers

Is that not what we have? The price cap is a maximum cost per kWh and you can compare what each supplier is charging by checking this?

 

[pcaouolte]

Is that not what we have? The price cap is a maximum cost per kWh and you can compare what each supplier is charging by checking this?

Not really. The £2,500 is based on an average consumption of electricity and gas which will not match many peoples actual usage. For example I use more electricity than average but less gas than average. I also would like to have simple rates per kWh for electricity and gas plus details of the daily standing charge. I can then multiply these rates by my own usage to find out what my own costs are likely to be. Many suppliers seem to make this basic information very difficult to find and instead show you a dumbed down pricing based on some hypothetical usage. I find that pricing was much clearer 20 years ago than it is now.

Having said all that, there currently seems to be so little difference between suppliers that it is not worth switching anyway.

 

[denso13]

The £2,500 is based on an average consumption of electricity and gas which will not match many peoples actual usage

I know.

I also would like to have simple rates per kWh for electricity and gas plus details of the daily standing charge. I can then multiply these rates by my own usage to find out what my own costs are likely to be.

That's what I do, and most people I know.

Many suppliers seem to make this basic information very difficult to find

I found this for BG since your post,

I may be wrong but think most people would compare the unit kWh cost as a proper comparison.

 

[Diver Fred]

certainly needed - the press has fixed on the 'typical' annual cost without completing the wording that everyones costs will be different. Just seen an elderlies persons electric bill; headline figure for electricity is 69.6 pence per unit of Electric, It is reduced by "energy price guarantee" by 17p per unit so the hidden price is 42.6 p per unit.
Not seen any info on how long this price will hold until it changes again.

 

[henry1]

I tried comparing prices from suppliers many years ago. It was impossible and I assume worse now. This is because they have different tiers and structures for pricing. For instance the first X units will be at £y rate, the next ones at a different price, whereas another supplier will price it daytime vs nighttime, etc. The first units being more expensive is very punishing when you're trying to use as little as possible to save on bils.

 

[Notch7]

Have you ever tried to compare prices between suppliers? If the finance industry has their APR metric, why can't we have a kWh figure that we can use to compare suppliers

I’ve always used a spreadsheet to calculate energy prices, I look up the kw price and the standing charge and use historical figures for annual usage.

energy companies never make their prices very transparent, they never say “we are 0.35p a kw”

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Is that not what we have? The price cap is a maximum cost per kWh and you can compare what each supplier is charging by checking this?

It's not quite what we have.

I don't think there is much to choose between any supplier currently, but there are so many variables in most offerings. A cost per kWh is good, but has to be taken into account with the daily charge, so an overall figure is very difficult to calculate.

A fixed true comparison figure would be easier and better for most

 

[foxhole]

Any comparison site will compare costs for you , they take into account the standing charges. They are as accurate as the info you input .

 

[denso13]

It's not quite what we have.

I may be misunderstanding but the OP was looking for a per kWh figure which I posted, as an example, for a current BG plan? They are available online.

 

[Notch7]

Any comparison site will compare costs for you , they take into account the standing charges. They are as accurate as the info you input .

Back when it possible to switch to a new contract, I discovered their saving calculation was not compared to your existing deal, but the standard rate pricing after your existing contract ended….so the saving they arrived wasn’t really true.

 

[foxhole]

Back when it possible to switch to a new contract, I discovered their saving calculation was not compared to your existing deal, but the standard rate pricing after your existing contract ended….so the saving they arrived wasn’t really true.

This is clearly stated so savings were accurate as described .Failure to read and understand comparison doesn’t make it untrue .

 

[IT Minion]

certainly needed - the press has fixed on the 'typical' annual cost without completing the wording that everyones costs will be different. Just seen an elderlies persons electric bill; headline figure for electricity is 69.6 pence per unit of Electric, It is reduced by "energy price guarantee" by 17p per unit so the hidden price is 42.6 p per unit.
Not seen any info on how long this price will hold until it changes again.

They're on an expensive fixed deal then, otherwise they'd be capped to 34p like everyone else. They should be looking at cancelling if possible.

Expensive fixes get reduced by up to 17p for electricity and 4p for Gas or until they're at the price cap.

Energy bills support factsheet

www.gov.uk

 

[henry1]

I’ve always used a spreadsheet to calculate energy prices, I look up the kw price and the standing charge and use historical figures for annual usage.

energy companies never make their prices very transparent, they never say “we are 0.35p a kw”

Exactly. You shouldn't have to go to this extent. It would be like taking your scale and calculator to Tesco to compare the price of meat per kg.
They purposefully don't make their prices transparent and no one, no charity, no MP and least of all, no watchdog, seem interested in a clear price per kWh.

 

[IT Minion]

Exactly. You shouldn't have to go to this extent. It would be like taking your scale and calculator to Tesco to compare the price of meat per kg.
They purposefully don't make their prices transparent and no one, no charity, no MP and least of all, no watchdog, seem interested in a clear price per kWh.

For variable rates at the moment they are all the same at the moment. Once the price guarantee ends it's worth discussing but right now it's just odd.