confusopoly

[pm215]

My electricity company (Southern Electric) has two flavours of tariff -- one with a standing charge and one without. I had previously assumed that the no-standing charge one would be cheaper for low usage but the standing charge version cheaper at higher usage. In fact (having just done the maths) the standing charge tariff is cheaper only if your usage is in the range 364 to 514 units a quarter. Since the average household apparently uses between 3300 and 4600 units a year depending on who you believe, I can't help suspecting a lot of people are on the (default) standing-charge tariff when they'd be better off on the other one.

Oh, and anybody still on the RSPB tariff should switch to the newer 'better plan' one as it is just as 'green' (if you care about that; arguably it doesn't make a difference) and cheaper.

Comments

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Frog in a saucepan. Things which people find difficult to change (because if they ignore them they keep going) start out good and get worse. Who knows, maybe there was a time when that standing charge plan was good, and a lot of the people on it made the right decision at the time. But they don't make a purchasing decision each time they buy, so there's no need for the plan to stay competitive. See also: mobile phone tariffs, bank accounts, credit cards, cable/sky TV and addictive drugs.