David

ELN reports that the government’s smart meter rollout could cost £1 billion more than previously predicted, taking the total cost to £12 billion.

A research from the Big Deal and ITV states the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has “overestimated” the cost of buying equipment by £394 million but “dramatically underestimated” the cost of installation by nearly £1.5 billion.

It believes the two main reasons for the overspend are:

• Underestimating the number of homes that have either just one meter or gas and electricity meter from different suppliers. The research estimates each of these installations will cost £67 rather than the £107 it costs when one supplier replaces both meters.
• Underestimating the number of households that will require second visits. The research claims BEIS has said 5% of installations will require a second visit but it found 15% as a “more accurate figure and could be much higher”.

It also found consumers are currently facing issues such as the smart meters not communicating with the energy supplier correctly and in-home displays not working properly, therefore not receiving information from the meters.

BEIS told ELN it doesn’t recognise the £1 billion figure as the research does not take into account the benefits of having smart meters. It adds the rollout is expected to provide a net bill saving of £300 million in 2020 across all households, rising to £1.2 billion a year in 2030.

This statement is reinforced by another new survey from Smart Energy GB that found

Around 82% of the 10,000 people questioned said they have taken at least one step to reduce their energy use.

The survey also found in-home displays (IHDs) – which shows how much energy is being used in pounds and pence and in near real time – are helping people get their gas and electricity use under control.

Based on the above figures the total savings would be just £7.5b over 10 years. It remains questionable whether investing £12b (£150 per household) is the most efficient way of achieving a reduction in energy consumption. Whatever the meter display shows, people still have to cook and wash and there is a limit how much households can economize just from checking the smart meter.

ELN reports that the average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales is to increase by 2% this year.
That will add around £6 in April, taking the total bill to £395 on average.
Between 2015 and 2020, water and sewerage companies are to invest £44 billion in better service and environmental improvements.
Almost all water firms have social tariffs in place, which help reduce the bills of low income households.
Also households with small children and patients of certain categories can apply for discounted rates.
However, according to Consumer Council for Water (CCWater), only around half of the 400,000 households who can benefit from the scheme have so far signed up for help.
“The good news is water companies have a growing number of schemes to help customers who are feeling the pinch. Some of these can provide lower bills and therefore shield households from the effects of price rises. But a lot of that support is still not reaching those that need it most.”

As the business watermarket opens up for competition, Alpine Utilities looks forward to offer even more savings on businesses utility bills.

OFGEM announced today they have set a price cap for domestic pre-payment meters. Over 4 million electricity pre-payment meter customers and 3.5m gas pre-payment customers badly loose out from the competition in the energy market as they are denied the best deals.
As many pre-payment customers are in vulnerable circumstances, including fuel poverty. This temporary cap will protect these households.
The price cap will expire in 2020 when the smart-meter roll-out should be completed which will help prepayment meter customers in particular access better deals.
We welcome OFGEM’s initiative to protect those who need it most.

According to an ELN report Steve Holliday, former boss of National Grid, who believes the nation has enough electricity capacity to meet demand even during peak times.

Last year National Grid increased the gap between total power generating capacity and peak demand to 6.6% for this winter – up from from 5.5% for winter 2015/2016.

Mr Holliday told BBC News: “It’s time for the headline of Blackout Britain to end – it’s simply wrong. We’ve been talking about blackouts for 15 years every time it gets cold but it’s a scare story.

“The lights haven’t gone out yet and thanks to the measures the government is putting in place this week, they definitely won’t go out in future. The UK has one of the most stable supplies of electricity in Europe.”

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) agrees, adding “it’s time to put Blackout Britain scaremongering to bed once and for all”.

“Britain has one of the most reliable electricity systems in the world and it’s remaining reliable as renewable generation increases. It used to be said that the grid would fall over when 5% of our electricity came from wind and solar power – we’re now at three times that level and the lights are staying stubbornly on, just as they are in Denmark where wind provides about 40% of electricity.”

However another report expects this year the first cyber attack on a utility firm – should this happen, your lights may go out nevertheless.

ELN reports that OFGEM is trying out various measures to increase the number of domestic customers switching from the most expensive standard tariffs.
They will start by this summer and will cover issues including:

• Suppliers telling customers what the cheapest deals are across the whole market
• Changing the name of standard tariffs, for example, to ‘out of contract’ tariffs
• Different ways of presenting information in domestic bills
• Changes to information customers receive once they come to the end of a fixed deal.

At a time when energy prices are so high and households desperate for more spending power it is inconceivable that 70% of customer unnecessarily overpaying for their heating and electricity.

What is true for domestic customer applies even more to the commercial sector!
Call Alpine Utilities today for a cheaper deal on your energy!

We are pleased to note that both CNG & Gazprom have now followed most big6 suppliers in compliance with the recent CMA directive to allow Microbusinesses to terminate a rollover contract anytime by giving just 30 days notice.
Microbusiness customers who fail to terminate ahead of the renewal will no longer be locked in on an expensive 12 month contract. For CNG customers at renewal prices will obviously change but the customer can still negotiate a better deal and terminate long before the end of the 12 months. Gazprom microbusiness customers will go out-of-contract and will not require any termination.
For CNG the definition of microbusiness does not tally with the industry guideline but rather refers to any customer using less than 723’000kwh gas.
Alpine Utilities Ltd has communicated this inconsistency to the supplier.

Lately an increasing number of visitors are misusing our news section to post spam comments.
While we welcome genuine comments about the news item posted we do not tolerate spam or marketing messages. These are all being thrashed and not given any consideration whatsoever.
Should this abuse of our website continue we will have no choice but to take legal action against those spammers!

OFGEM published today some interesting figures regarding the Domestic Variable Standard Tariffs on
Accordingly about 20m domestic customers are still paying over the odds on the higher variable standard tariffs instead of saving £££’s on cheaper tariffs.

It’s time for customers to make the most of the competitive energy market both in domestic and business and save hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

For competitive business energy contracts contact Alpine Utilities Ltd @ info@alpineutilities.co.uk

OFGEM’s latest press relies says OVO Energy pays £54,000 in redress and a further £4000 to a charity after agents missed appointments and failed to pay the statuary compensation to customers.
This is good news for consumers and should send a timely message to big and small suppliers to put their house in order.

ELN reports that water billing issues were a common occurrence, with 37% of firms having experienced it and half of them being overcharged.
So there is a high chance you are being ripped off as well.

Take advantage of our FREE audit of water bills and you could save a fortune.