By Paul Homewood
You were warned!!
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Millions of households with smart meters face paying more for their electricity at the busiest times of day under regulator plans.
Ofgem is consulting on introducing a “dynamic” energy price cap to meet the demand of net zero, despite repeated assurances from the Government thatsmart meter technologywould not result in more expensive energy bills for consumers.
The energy watchdog said it would look to “encourage consumer flexibility” by basing the energy price cap around the wholesale costs of electricity throughout the day.
The plans include allowing suppliers to charge more for electricity when the grid is at its busiest, as Britons move away from conventional gas boilers and adopt electric-powered heat pumps and electric vehicles.
Proposals would scrap the energy price cap – currently £1,690 a year – and effectively switch the entire country to a 1970s-style “time-of-use” tariff that charges different prices throughout the day.
This would either be introduced in weekly “time bands” that are divided into more expensive peak and cheaper off-peak periods, or linked directly to half-hourly wholesale market prices.
Ofgem admitted the latter proposal would risk “exposing customers to wholesale price variability” and that “many consumers may struggle to engage with constantly evolving pricing”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/bills/energy/energy-customers-smart-meters-face-pay-more-busy-times/
The Energy Price Cap should never have been introduced. But now energy users with a smart meter may be faced with a fait accompli, finding it difficult to find any supplier prepared to offer a fixed price.
And one thing is absolutely certain – consumers will not be better off under any new system.
And as may experts are pointing out, many people need access to electricity all day. It is all very well for a household which is empty during the day, but what will happen to old people or mums with kids who need to heat their homes all day.
Indeed how many of these groups will even have access to the information needed to optimise pricing?
Worse still, this is not only about Time of Day pricing – wholesale prices can often peak at much higher levels for days on end when wind power is low in winter. There will be no escape from this peak pricing at times like this – everybody will end up paying.
If the government is intent on bringing in this policy, it must legislate for an opt out for anybody who wants to remain with a fixed price, and that should be set at an affordable level.
