EDF makes rule change which could hand energy customers £338 a year
EDF has announced new standing charge rules for thousands of customers. The energy giant's new fixed-term tracker tariff, EDF Simply Tracker Extra Apr26, replaces EDF’s Simply Tracker Mar26 tariff, and lowers standing charges for most customers.
The tariff tracks Standard Variable prices to always guarantee a £100 saving against the price cap. The standing charge discount ensures all customers benefit equally from predictable cost savings. Standing charges are the daily cost you pay for the facility of having gas and electricity, even if you don't use any. The charges have increased significantly over the past two years and can vary hugely depending on where you live.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: While Ofgem's announcement on standing charges isn't the best possible outcome, it's the best outcome that Ofgem can deliver unilaterally, to do more would require government intervention – and that hasn't happened.
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"Standing charges are a £338 a year poll tax on energy bills, a moral hazard disincentivising lower users from cutting their bills. They also punish customers that only use gas for central heating in winter, many of whom are elderly, by making them pay for every day in summer. It's by far the biggest single subject of complaint I get from the public about energy bills.
"The best outcome would be to slash standing charges within the Price Cap, yet as that'd mean the cost of each unit of energy would need to increase, it'd require the Government to put in special support for vulnerable high energy users – such as those charging electric wheelchairs, or those with illnesses that require a very warm home. That hasn't happened (yet?)."
Replacing EDF’s Simply Tracker Mar26 tariff, this new one-year, fixed-term tracker tariff tracks Standard Variable prices to consistently undercut Ofgem’s price cap by £100, offering guaranteed savings of £50 per fuel, with the discount applied through standing charges. Standing charges are fixed daily charges levied on customers’ bills, which cover the cost of supplying electricity and gas to homes.
EDF is part of EDF Group, the world’s biggest electricity generator. In the UK, the company employs around 14,000 people at locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.