Tag Archives: uSwitch.com

Electricity, Energy, Energy Distribution, Heating, Services

Thin End of Wedge As GBP4.30 Added onto Electricity Bills

Energy regulator Ofgem has signed off investment in the regional electricity networks that will add GBP4.30 a year onto household electricity bills. However, this is just the thin end of a wedge warns a uSwitch.com as it is a small part of a much broader GBP233.5 billion energy investment programme that is expected to add GBP548 a year in total onto consumer energy bills.

This could see household energy bills hit as high as GBP4,733 a year by 2020, nearly four times higher than they are today. Ofgem itself calculated that household energy bills could hit GBP2,000 a year as a result of investment, but recently described this as ‘over optimistic’.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: “GBP4.30 a year may seem small fry, but in fact it’s a wake-up call for us all. This is just the beginning of a huge investment process that will lead to significantly higher household energy bills. The GBP5,000 a year energy bill may seem like an outside possibility, but we have to remember that energy bills doubled in the last five years alone and that the huge investment needed just to keep the lights on in Britain will alone add GBP548 a year onto our bills. The fact is we are entering a new era of high cost energy and households will have to adapt their behaviour accordingly.

“The Government has been banging the drum for energy efficiency for a while now, but consumers have been reluctant to spend money on these measures. As a result, energy efficiency has been massively underperforming even though it is one of the biggest defences we have against escalating energy costs. We also have a competitive energy market, and yet less than 5% of consumers are on the most competitive energy plans – most people are paying far more than they have to for the energy they use.

“This has to change. My advice to consumers is to invest in making your home more energy efficient, reduce the amount of energy you use and make sure you are paying the lowest possible price for it. Big projects such as a new energy efficient boiler or home insulation can be expensive, but the savings you make through cutting the price of your energy could be re-invested into energy efficiency measures so that you reap even greater rewards in the future.

“Don’t be put off. If cost is an issue, speak to your supplier to see if they can help – they have a pot of money available to help households with energy efficiency. Or contact the Energy Saving Trust for advice. The key thing is to start future-proofing yourself against higher energy bills now.”

Via EPR Network
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Electricity, Energy, Energy Distribution, Heating, Services

uSwitch.com Comments on Today’s Announcement on Smart Meters

uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, welcomes today’s announcement on smart meters, but believes there are still a number of issues that need to be ironed out before the launch. Prime importance is to ensure that the final specification of the meters will meet consumers’ needs and that enough focus is given to educating consumers on their use.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: “The introduction of smart meters is a positive step forward in the drive to ensure that all households get accurate, up-to-date energy bills and have the information they need to be able to monitor and lower their energy usage.

“Today’s announcement shows that the Government and the energy industry are picking up the pace, although there are still a number of issues to iron out. The key concern for consumers is cost and how much the roll out of smart metering is likely to add to household energy bills. Our research shows that only 19% of consumers believe that a significant increase in household energy bills is a price worth paying and 57% of people are not even aware of what smart meters are. This suggests that without a proper education and consumer engagement programme there could be an uphill battle persuading households that they should be picking up the tab.

“There is much to be gained from the roll-out of smart meters so it’s vital that all parties involved keep their eye on the main prize which is the benefit it will bring to consumers and the competitive market. If households are to get maximum value the specification has to be right and designed to put easy-to-understand information at people’s finger tips, including historical usage data so they can manage their energy more easily, compare prices and find an energy plan or supplier that suits their needs. This is a huge opportunity for the industry to get consumers engaged in managing household energy, but there will only be one opportunity to get it right.”

Via EPR Network
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Electricity, Energy, Energy Distribution, Heating, Services

40% Drop In Heating Cover Could Leave Consumers Out In The Cold

•Financial gamble: number of people taking out heating cover on their boilers has dropped 40% in the last year

•Safety gamble: 42% ignore industry safety advice to get boilers checked once a year, risking carbon monoxide poisioning

•No peace of mind: two thirds of households (65%) don’t have any form of emergency heating cover

•Paying the price: nearly one in three boilers breaks down within six years of being installed, cost of replacing four key boiler parts can reach £1200.

As winter bites and with people still feeling the bitter chill of recession, new research from uSwitch.com, the independent price and comparison switching service, reveals a 40% drop in the number of people taking out or renewing heating cover compared to this time last year. As a result more than two thirds (65%) of households do not have any type of heating or boiler cover in place, potentially taking a risk with their finances and their health.

Nearly one in three boilers breaks down within six years of being installed, and the cost of repair can spiral up to £1,200 to replace the four key boiler parts. In comparison, the average yearly cost of heating cover comes in at £122 or just over £10 a month.

However, this isn’t the only risk. Gas boilers should be serviced every year to minimise the risk of carbon monoxide poisioning, but 42% of households ignore these guidelines. Worryingly, one in ten – almost three million households – have never had their boiler serviced while the same number again have only ever had their boiler looked at when it’s gone wrong. According to the Gas Safe Register (which has taken over from Corgi), in the last year 14 people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning and 234 have suffered health problems after being exposed to the deadly gas. Recommended counter measures include having an annual gas safety check and installing a carbon monoxide alarm.

Will Marples, energy expert at uSwitch.com, says: “Household budgets continue to be stretched, but what seems like an easy saving could cost you dearly in the long term. Those who have cancelled or decided against cover might think they are just taking a chance with their money, but if they are also not getting their boiler checked they are taking a chance with their health.

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Electricity, Energy, Energy Distribution, Services

Energy Price Cuts This Year – 12% For Online Customers But 4% For Everyone Else

•Energy price cuts in 2009: 4% or £54 for standard plan customers, but 12% or GBP133 for online customers

•At the beginning of the year, online plans were £170 cheaper than standard plans – today they are £249 a year cheaper

•Best kept secret: despite consistently lower prices only 1.3 million or 5% of households are on online energy plans

•Winter worry: two thirds (65%) of people are worried about the cost of their energy bills as we head into winter

•Affordability concerns: almost two in ten households (19%) are finding it difficult to afford their energy bills

•Cutting back: 57% of households are already cutting back on energy to make bills cheaper while a further 17% are planning to join them.

While the majority of households have seen energy prices drop by 4% or £54 this year, new research from uSwitch.com reveals that households who are on suppliers’ online plans have enjoyed cuts three times this size. Since the beginning of 2009 their prices have been reduced by a healthy 12% or £133, leaving online customers paying £249 less than standard customers.

While the debate about whether suppliers should be cutting prices again in light of lower wholesale costs rumbles on, households on online plans are sitting pretty. They have seen bills drop from £1,123 on the 1st January to £990 today. However, households on standard plans have not fared so well – their prices have dropped from GBP1,293 at the beginning of the year to £1,239 today, barely making a dent in the 42% or GBP381 increase in energy prices seen last year.

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Electricity, Energy, Projects, Services, Waste Management

Do You Think You Understand Your Energy Bills?

uSwitch.com is campaigning for household energy bills to be made simpler, clearer and easier for consumers to understand after asking an examining board to give an independent assessment of the state of Britain’s energy bills. The findings were shocking – 45% of Brits may not actually be qualified enough to understand a household energy bill.

Energy Bills

According to examiners, people would need at least a higher grade GCSE or O’ level in maths to be able to get to grips with a household energy bill. This is because of the complexity and format of the information provided. But last year only 55% of GCSE maths students achieved this. Based on this pass rate, almost half of the population could be expected to struggle to understand an energy bill.

In reality, three quarters of people (75%) find energy bills confusing and 57% find it difficult to work out how their bill has been calculated. Because of this consumers are being urged to take action by:

-Joining the ‘Simpler, clearer, easier’ Facebook group: www.uSwitch.com/simpler-clearer-easier – Signing the ‘Better bills‘ petition: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/betterbills/ – Taking part in the uSwitch.com Energy Bill Challenge: www.uSwitch.com/bill-challenge

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com says:”You shouldn’t need to be an ‘A’ grade student to be able to understand your energy bills. As things currently stand 45% of consumers are in danger of being excluded because of the complex way in which energy bills are written and presented today.”

Ann Robinson continues: “Ofgem is looking to address this, but it’s vital that consumers make their voices heard too. Take the challenge, join the ‘Simpler, clearer, easier’ group on Facebook and sign our e-Petition to get energy bills made simpler, clearer and easier for consumers to understand.”

The uSwitch.com Energy Bill Challenge:

45% of people are not sufficiently qualified to understand a household energy bill – are you one of them? Find out if you’ve got what it takes to get to the bottom of a typical bill by taking the uSwitch.com Energy Bill Challenge at:

www.uSwitch.com/bill-challenge

Have paper, a pen and a calculator to hand and don’t forget to visit Facebook afterwards to let us know how you got on. And just in case you think it’s too easy, here’s what the Head of Mathematics at the examining board said:

Chair & Head of Mathematics, Edexcel:The amount of information, lack of explanations and format of the bills make them very difficult to process…… These things would make them inaccessible for most GCSE candidates unless considerable explanation was given.”

Good luck!

For more information visit www.uSwitch.com or call 0800 093 06 07

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Electricity, Energy, Projects, Services, Waste Management

Baffling Utility Bills Leave Consumers Confused, Bemused And Definitely Not Amused

Consumers are being left confused, badly informed and potentially vulnerable to debt because of the poor quality of some major household bills, according to uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service. The warning comes after new research revealed stark differences in the standard of bills being issued by different industry sectors. While some are simple and straightforward for people to understand, others are leaving consumers totally confused.

Energy suppliers, water companies and home telephone and broadband providers are responsible for the most confusing household bills. Of these, energy bills appear to be the most complicated – three quarters (75%) of consumers find them confusing. Other utility providers are not doing much better either – 59% of consumers find their home telephone, broadband and DTV bills confusing, matched by those left confused by water bills (59%).

Worryingly, 68% of consumers find energy bills harder to understand than other household bills. On average households are spending £1,243 a year on energy bills, but only four in ten consumers (40%) find it easy to work out how their energy company has calculated their bill. Suppliers also seem to be failing to communicate on a basic level with their customers – only 39% of people think that their energy bills are written in plain English. Less than half (45%) think that the name of their energy plan is easy to understand.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are banks and building societies, where almost three quarters (72%) of consumers find their bills and statements simple and straightforward to understand. Personal finance companies generally seem to be issuing customer-friendly information in a format that most people can understand – just 41% of consumers find credit and store card bills confusing.

The findings suggest that the energy industry is lagging behind other sectors in being able to communicate simply and clearly with customers. This could leave consumers disadvantaged as energy bills account for a sizeable chunk of the average annual household budget. Experts also predict that energy bills will quadruple within the next 10 years. If consumers are to be able to manage this aspect of their budget, and be able to make an informed decision when switching, they need to be able to understand basic information such as their consumption, spend and tariff details.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: “Nobody likes bills, but they do play a fundamental part in the relationship between a company and its customers. A well-written, clear and concise bill should leave consumers feeling empowered and in control, not bemused. This is why it is so worrying to find that three quarters of us are confused by our energy bills.

“Ofgem has signalled its intention to work with suppliers on improving energy bills. This is a vital piece of work if we are to see well-informed consumers taking full advantage of the competitive energy market. If Ofgem is to succeed in making energy bills simpler, clearer and easier then it has to look outside of the energy industry for ideas on best practice. Judging by our research, it could do far worse than look to banks and building societies, which seem to be leading the way in providing consumers with bills and information they can easily understand.”

About uSwitch:
uSwitch.com is a free, impartial online and telephone-based comparison and switching service, helping consumers compare prices on gas, electricity, water, heating cover, home telephone, broadband, digital television, mobile phones, personal finance products and car insurance.

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Electricity, Energy, Projects, Services, Waste Management

Household Energy Bills to Hit Almost GBP5k in 10 Years Time

Consumers are being warned today that they could be facing annual energy bills of almost £5,000 a year by 2020. The shock forecast from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, is based on pricing trends over the last 5 years and takes into account the huge investment programme shortly to be undertaken by the energy industry and Government. The investment, expected to total £233.5 billion, will secure the country’s longer-term supply and enable the roll-out of smart metering into all homes, but will add £548 a year onto household energy bills for the next 15 years.

uswitch

Looking at pricing trends alone, consumers could expect energy bills to reach £4,185 by 2020. This strips out the cost of investment, but factors in inflation and volatility in the wholesale markets, as seen by suppliers over the last 5 years. Since 2004, global demand for energy and volatility in wholesale prices have contributed to a 114% increase in household energy prices, including a 42% or £381 increase last year. The overall effect has been to see household energy bills more than doubling from £580 in 2004 to £1,243 today.

Volatility is expected to continue to be a dominant theme in the energy market going forward. Although the current world-wide recession is dampening demand for energy, the recession is due to end by 2011/12, when global demand for energy can be expected to start climbing again. Power hungry economies, such as China and India, will be returning to strength, resulting in an upward pressure on wholesale energy prices. At the same time, North Sea oil will start to run out adding greater pressure on the market. Wholesale energy prices account for around 50% of a household bill so continuing volatility will have an impact on the amount consumers will pay.

As well as upward pressure on household energy bills, there will be downward pressure too. The Government’s drive to make British households more energy efficient will start to pay dividends. But, instead of reducing bills it will serve to counterbalance other factors pushing energy usage up, such as the growth in single person households, Britain’s ageing population and growing reliance on electrical gadgets.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: “This is a wake-up call for us all. The £5,000 a year energy bill may seem like an outside possibility, but we have to remember that energy bills doubled in the last five years alone and that the huge investment needed just to keep the lights on in Britain will alone add £548 a year onto our bills. The fact is we are entering a new era of high cost energy and households will have to adapt their behaviour accordingly.

“The Government has been banging the drum for energy efficiency for a while now, but consumers have been reluctant to spend money on these measures. As a result, energy efficiency has been massively underperforming even though it is one of the biggest defences we have against escalating energy costs. We also have a competitive energy market, and yet less than 5% of consumers are on the most competitive energy plans – most people are paying far more than they have to for the energy they use.

“This has to change. My advice to consumers is to invest in making your home more energy efficient, reduce the amount of energy you use and make sure you are paying the lowest possible price for it. Big projects such as a new energy efficient boiler or home insulation can be expensive, but the savings you make through cutting the price of your energy could be re-invested into energy efficiency measures so that you reap even greater rewards in the future.

“Don’t be put off. If cost is an issue, speak to your supplier to see if they can help – they have a pot of money available to help households with energy efficiency. Or contact the Energy Saving Trust for advice. The key thing is to start future-proofing yourself against higher energy bills now.”

About uSwitch:

uSwitch.com is a free, impartial online and telephone-based comparison and switching service, helping consumers compare prices on gas, electricity, water, heating cover, home telephone, broadband, digital television, mobile phones, personal finance products and car insurance.

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