Electric Ireland: Low usage levy

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My standing charge for this property is just over €1 per day (1.03 from memory); so there is definitely some additional levy.

It effectively doubles the bill.

I've swapped over to another supplier for now & we'll see how that goes.
 
DannyBoyD said:
My standing charge for this property is just over €1 per day (1.03 from memory); so there is definitely some additional levy.

It effectively doubles the bill.

I've swapped over to another supplier for now & we'll see how that goes.
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There is no extra low use charge.

Electric Ireland annual standing charges for all customers are as follows

Smart meter -
Urban €250
Rural €315

Add to that PSO levy of €42.

For old style day/night meters it's higher
Urban €329
Rural €400

+ Pso levy

Applies no matter how little or how large your use is.

If you have a low usage, get a smart meter and avoid the day/night meter premium.

Energia are about €12 cheaper and bord gais about €25 cheaper - but both have higher unit rates.

If you are switching, make sure you know all the different fees and charges. The unit cost is only one element
 
I wouldn't call that low usage. My own annual usage is circa 2,500 units for a family home 2 adults and 3 children under 10. Dishwasher and washing machine going daily.
 
1 euro standing charge is a perfectly normal standing charge. I pay the same every day with EI !
 
jpd said:
€ 1 per day is far too high

I pay 60c with Bord Gais
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Gas and electricity are completely different energy supplies with different standing charges. €1 per day is not usual for a day/night electricity meter as already explained earlier.

My home day/night electricity with Energia is 74c per day ex VAT =~ 84c including VAT.
 
DannyBoyD said:
On checking, I believe this is what I have
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You're complaining about your standing charge but don't even seem sure what kind of meter you have... That's odd. As previously explained the standing charge for a day/night meter is higher than for a 24 hour or smart meter. And the rural standing charges are generally higher than urban ones.
 
Yerra sure I'm an odd person, so why not have odd problems.

I think its clear that the standing charge is high, as already pointed out its doubling the actual usage cost, which is a bit rich in my view.

And I've moved to another supplier, will see how that goes.
 
DannyBoyD said:
I think its clear that the standing charge is high,
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It's not, if it's a day/night meter. And definitely not if it's a rural one.
DannyBoyD said:
And I've moved to another supplier, will see how that goes.
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Didn't you check the charges that you were signing up for before doing so? You shouldn't sign up without clarifying these first. And that they are a good fit for your usage profile. You should have a 14 day cooling off period to cancel without penalty if you need to double check things and change anything.
 
A standing charge which is as much as the actual usage is high - I'm not sure how you can argue otherwise.

As I've said, we'll see how the swap goes; its not a lifetime commitment!
 
DannyBoyD said:
A standing charge which is as much as the actual usage is high - I'm not sure how you can argue otherwise.
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A standing charge of c. €1 per day is not out of line with electricity market charges.
DannyBoyD said:
As I've said, we'll see how the swap goes; its not a lifetime commitment!
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If it's a contract then you'll most likely have to pay €50 to get out of it early if it doesn't work out. As I said, you should have a cooling off period to double check things and make changes if necessary.
 
DannyBoyD said:
A standing charge which is as much as the actual usage is high - I'm not sure how you can argue otherwise.

As I've said, we'll see how the swap goes; its not a lifetime commitment!
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You are mistaken in your beliefs here.

There is and never was a correlation between electricity usage and the service charge. They are separate charges, one for supply (fixed) the other for usage (variable).

If you use lots of electricity, the daily standing charge will be a small % of the charge for use (KW) and vice versa if your usage is low
 
DannyBoyD said:
Seriously? Give me strength.
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@Luternau is correct. You seem to have some misunderstanding or misconception about electricity supply standing charges.

What are the charges - standing and unit - on your new contract?
Do you actually have a day/night meter?
Is it a urban or rural location?
 
@DannyBoyD

I have a day /night low to nill usage on a vacant property for a few years...

The standing charge has been almost all of my bill for this time. That's understandable as it's all they can bill. If I look at it the way you do, yes, I am paying a lot for low use, but the fee charged is for supply, not use.

Up to June 22, I was charged a low usage standing charge, which amounted to about €32 extra excluding vat per year. Hardly the extortionate extra charge you say is being applied to your low usage.

As pointed out by a few posters already, Electric Ireland stopped charging a low usage standing charge from June 2022. I can see this in my bills, and you should too. It was itemised, it's no longer itemised. They do not have another name for it or hide it elsewhere

My latest bill, has just 1kw usage for the period and a standing charge of 0.8259 per day or €47.90. The standing charge is/was not increased for my low usage.
 
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This is my electricity standing charge from my supplier Bord Gais from my August invoice
 
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