The pandemic has clearly impacted raw material prices. A war in Ukraine is going to push up oil and gas prices further.
In the UK energy price rises have been announced and the method of madness enacted is to apply the majority of post April 1st price rise to the daily standing charge. In my own case this is stated to rise from 21 pence per day for electricity to 47p per day.
Part of this standing charge rise is to shore up the failing energy market in the UK, to keep the illusion of competition alive after a wave of smaller energy providers have gone bust (including one medium sized company, Bulb who had over a million users and was deemed to large for the big six energy providers to absorb and so is temporarily run by the government).
The other cost is the £150 “loan” that each energy user in the UK will get off their bills this year but that will be paid back over five years (so we will all be paying back this loan in subsequent years even if energy prices rise further.Robbing Peter to pay Paul?). In effect the huge rise in standing charges will help keep energy companies afloat whereas the liquidity of their users is a secondary concern.
Putting the majority of the energy price rises on the standing charge means that even if poorer households drastically reduce their energy usage and don’t put on their heating in winter they will only save down to the now raised floor of the standing charge.
For me this means that in summer months I will be paying more in standing charges than for the energy I consume. I’m going to be paying more for using less. That’s hardly fair and presumably the cost of getting that energy to me, purely in the ongoing cost of maintaining the infrastructure has not increased by the percentage we will all now be paying come April (let alone a projected further price cap review in October).
I see now why the review of energy pricing a few years back stated that all providers should include standing charges (we were with a company that had no standing charges).
So even those using micro-generation such as solar and wind to offset what they pay for their energy will find their bills rising due to an increase in standing charges.
Only complete off-grid energy users will be unaffected.
Up the hill backwards 
Standing charges are the bane of my life too. You’d imagine in a supply crisis they’d want to encourage people to use less, but front-loading it onto paying for just having a supply at all means the frugal are subsidising the gas-guzzlers that the planet can’t afford.
I too get that the infrastructure costs – but £150 per household per year? It’s class war and war against the environment: if you’re poor or just responsible, don’t imagine there’ll be any relief for you, instead we’re going to make you pay more for what you use than those who are burning it off like there’s no tomorrow – which at this rate there probably won’t be.
Long time, no new posts: hope all’s well, em. What a year! At least we got to see off a few lords & masters who certainly won’t be considered treasured ephemera, though we’ll still be paying a standing charge for them until we drop.
Hey Dave P apologies for delayed reply. Not been that well of late. Re UK energy market; I just wish they’d admit it isn’t fit for purpose. All that short termism is going to screw us over as country for such a long time & I see no evidence that we have the means to be more self sufficient & less buffeted by world market forces and global events. Only micro generation does that & you’re stuffed if you don’t have the resources.
Anyway now that Twitter is crumbling I’ll get back to posting here more. Thanks for commenting. Hope you are getting by. Best wishes.