Massive standing charge inflation- why?

Just to mention, it seems your comment was edited, it previously mentioned your claim that ​@Firedog is a Company Man.

Probably worth noting that the OVO Forum is primarily powered by Forum Volunteers and we’re customers just like you are. We don’t work for OVO ourselves, but we have direct contact with people who do, usually via the Forum Moderators (who are OVO Staff themselves). In actual fact, none of the Forum Volunteers so far have ever worked in the Energy Industry at all, so it gives us total independence from it but we still bring specialist skills of our own to the table.

It’s all done this way deliberately - because then it means we’re free to do our own thing and as long as we play by the same House Rules as everyone else, we’re free to roam the Forum and basically share our own opinions freely. We just… Happen to be able to also use our advanced knowledge as part of that.

Hope that helps clarify things a bit!

Yes, I did edit it because my comment was a bit of a hasty one. After mulling it all over I compared it to paying road tax for the car, which is a fixed fee whether one does 1000 miles a year or 10,000 miles per year. I do however, still believe that each of these types of charges or levvys would be more fairly financed if done according to how much you buy. 

For instance, I buy a loaf of bread and a pot of jam "or any other such items" when I buy them, the materials, production and transport costs along with profits along the way to the shelf have all been taken into account, part of what I paid has contributed to creating that service.

My original comment was hasty because there did seem to be quite a bit of unnecessary diversionary chaff thrown into the wind regarding PV panels loadings on 50 year old systems etc. If the machinery making my loaf of bread & pot of jam needs substantially and unexpectedly upgrading, they simply make each loaf and pot a tad more expensive, it's woven in rather than a seperate issue.

It’s not just upgrades that have pushed up Standing Charges…

For a while, all those dead suppliers did too, but I think those will drop off sooner or later. Then you’ve got stuff like energy theft - if it’s “written off” then it gets thrown onto Standing Charges for everyone else as a Technical/Non-Technical Loss.

And then you’ve got other things too...

Yes, but … You get the car out and drive to the supermarket, you pop in and buy a loaf of bread, then drive home again. Another time, you manage to fill two trolleys with all sorts of stuff, costing very much more than a loaf of bread. But the cost of getting you to the shop and home again with the shopping is pretty much the same. Not so much a standing charge as a driving one, but you get the idea: your wallet is in both cases lighter by (cost of shopping + driving charge).

Not really. Like you, more and more people are turning to home generation to cut their expenditure on energy. Many of them will be hoping to sell any excess production back to the grid. The local network will not have been dimensioned to carry this new load, which is why electricity distributors have to approve any such scheme and if necessary impose limits on how much can be accepted. Those limits can only be raised by upgrading the network cabling and switchgear etc. The same applies to the wider use of electric vehicles charged at home.

How should that upgrade cost be apportioned, do you think?

Good point about car chargers and selling pv generation to the grid. I have both (come the sunnier days) so I’m indebted to everyone as I haven’t had to pay for this privilege. In fact my ev charger cane with a grant so cost me nothing back in 2020. 

I get your point Firedog, but equally mine is valid. I might walk or cycle or bus or other "than drive" to the shop, but that at least has offered me a choice other than Hobson's choice. A little per unit in my book is fairer than a fixed fee. Likewise vehicle tax on the road could be levvied per mile at MOT time so again that would be fairer.

It's just an opinion, but very similar to many others. I could run a small generator for a very long and considerable time on £200.00 worth of diesel, but that would not be agreeable in today's environment.

I understand the logic of infrastructure upgrading due to more & more  homes having PV panels installed. That must be some local loading nightmare in some places with mains distribution transformers being swung quite off balance by the effects of multiple single phase feedbacks that can't balance effectively due to where the sun is shining. And, with a bit of careful observance, there are a good few PV instalations up and down the country that are overshadowed by tree foliage (it's obvious that some PV installers neglect to point this out to the customer).

I could go on, but their just opinions, but without opinions what would change?

‘A little on a unit ...is fairer than a fixed fee would be detrimental to large families on a limited income or those in poor health and low income who rely on electrical devices to support them. There is no ‘fair’ option. Ofgem are carrying out a study to see if costs can be be redistributed but in essence it's a zero sum game. Some people will be better off and some will be worse off as all costs have to be paid for. Ofgem may do a few tweaks here and there but there isn't much they can do.

Peter

Thing is, I like OVO, but I loathe the inflexibility of not being able to choose my direct debit amount. My bill averages £47 annually, but my DD is £72 just to keep one month’s credit. Make it make sense!

And another thing… howwwww are my last bills £30+ when my flat’s been empty 👀 Are the cameras, smart lights, and internet really eating up that much power?
 

Take the whole company away. I’m done, because OVO’s moving like Drake if you ask me. 
 

But maybe I’m missing something here. 🤔

How do y'all keep your bills low?

Should I change my plan?

Is this “low” and I should stop moaning because it could be worse? I mean, it’s not even winter yet. In winter I can take the £100, but £30 for an empty flat? Really?

Hi ​@Day ,

That’s probably stuff like Daily Standing Charges and Usage Charges for anything that was left running.

Could you show us the numbers please?

Hey ​@Blastoise186 

Ahhh the infamous standing charges… you might be right crap. I didn’t really think about that. Do you mean the total units or just add a screenshot?