Martin Lewis's Urgent Energy Bills Crisis Video Briefing (Feb 2022 UPDATE)

Martin Lewis's Urgent Energy Bills Crisis Video Briefing (Feb 2022 UPDATE)

[sebastianfrog]

The real problem is the gov taking 80% tax on your gas and electricity bills, same for petrol and diesel

[gaurasrspublishing]

Isn't just so pleasant to get factual information, well-presented, without any bias. Top man.

[hexrag]

ah yes the good old standing charge. To screw over people that can't afford to use a lot of power even when they turn everything off

[RAPTUREATTWILIGHT]

Finally the unit cost and standing charge are mentioned! The average person doesn't understand 'differing percentages above the price cap' it's better to have given the unit charges 28p for electric and 7p for gas months ago! And it's the massive daily standing charge that is incredibly higher - that needs more attention on and actually more revolt! How dare they charge so high! The daily charge is what a property pays regardless of using any energy. It's gone from 18p a day to something like 43p-50p depending on your area, and that's for each fuel, so for gas and electric it's almost a £1 a day!! That is shocking!! British people are being ripped off big time. And we are so complacent we just accept it. The energy prices and charges are just not sustainable for the working person let alone those who are on limited pensions even with the warm home discount and winter fuel payment. It's scandalous.

[simonm]

How come Gavin "loser" Williamson who has added less than zero to our lives gets a knighthood and Martin who has added infinitely more to all of us UK doesn't? How messed up is that? Chumocracy at its finest. You are a legend Martin, and always will be.

[maitebuns]

Thank you Martin for a much-needed clarification 👍🏻. You may not have help me save money this time but you've considerably reduced my energy-related anxiety and that's huge. My thoughts go to those who already struggle to make ends meet. Let's hope better things are coming 🙏

[JohnSmith-ilkv]

The standing charge is NOT legally required and is at the energy companies discretion.

I spoke to my energy company about this and was told that the standing charge covers maintenance to meters (the actual meters are cheap, between £15 and £50 appx), reading of the meters and engineer smart meters may be a bit more.

I have been at my house for 37 yrs and NEVER have I had a replacement meter, a meter read or any maintenance done on either my gas or electric pre-payment meters.
The same goes for most of the people around me.

An article from FORBES ADVISOR, 2021:

""""Who sets gas and electricity standing charges?
Your energy supplier sets the level of gas and electricity standing charges that you have to pay.

Energy regulator Ofgem ruled that energy tariffs no longer need include a standing charge following recommendations by the Competition and Markets Authority back in 2016. However, the vast majority of energy suppliers continue to add them as part of the overall energy cost.
When you compare energy deals at a comparison website, the price you are quoted will include standing charges for both gas and electricity, as well as the energy itself."""
The advisor at my energy company sent a summary of my complaint, and this was one of his sentences:
""I informed you that although not a legal requirement, charging for daily standing charges is a common practice with utility companies. """

He therefore reiterates what I and Ofgem said in 2021---""that energy tariffs no longer need include a standing charge following recommendations by the Competition and Markets Authority back in 2016""

I am a very low user of gas, and a debt has been built up over the last few years BECAUSE I AM PAYING MORE FOR THE STANDING CHARGE THAN I DO FOR THE GAS!
If you take 37 years at £10 month, that comes to £4, 440----even if you halve that, it is still £2, 220.
That is for ONE of the meters---add the other and you double the amount.

The days of meter reading etc are redundant and the other excuses said by my energy company no longer exist.
It is a STEALTH TAX and discriminates against low users.

I can think of no one else who charges a standing charge--except for water, and they make a small annual charge.
As the standing charge is NOT a legal requirement, this should be looked into by Ofgem ( it won't be) and the Ombudsman---AND IT SHOULD BE SCRAPPED!

I would much rather pay a higher unit charge than a standing charge---then I could pay for WHAT I USE..

[bekindeventothosewhoarenot]

Our energy cost is the highest in Europe. I think we should nationalise the energy and water sectors.

[brianfreeman]

Reassuring to know that all those billions invested in wind farms are keeping our costs so low,

[trumbleslum]

I remember when oil was 20 dollars a barrel, but our bills never came down accordingly. Like the guy below said I wonder what profits these companies are going to publish later on??? As always the poor suffering the most again and there's " sod all" we can do about it. Great Britain, Yeah Right.

[crosscriss]

Great program Martin thanks for the advice.

I do feel in these times of a large number of people now unable to afford to cook hot food or put their lights on for fear of running up a huge unaffordable bill.

The truth of the situation be exposed so people can fully understand how profit lies at the heart of all of this.

Firstly the big six power companies are not really six at all. They are British gas run by the government and were divided into six to give the illusion of an open self regulated energy market. That's why all the small energy companies later set up have now all been pushed out of business.

Secondly after the costs were calculated for building and commissioning nuclear power stations it was realized that the current level of unit costs were far to low to recoup costs and make large profits. So a supply and demand issue was needed to drive up the price to the level needed for big business to make large returns.
Hence we are now witnessing continued multiple rises and it will never go back down.

Watch a large increase in people being forced out of their homes to gain a little warmth in shopping centres or public areas as this all unfolds.

You should look into some this Martin.

[sharonsmith]

My supplier for electricity is SSE, on their bills and promotional material they claim to be 100% renewable energy suppliers. My question is who increased the cost of wind and water? Total rip off merchants using the current situation for personal gain!!!

[kaelaleedaley]

Thank you so much for making these videos and keeping us updated to the best of your ability :) Praying for our World, especially those who are truly hungry, cold and afraid xx

[suewright]

Very many thanks Martin for making sense of a terrible situation.

[cloggsy]

Thanks for keeping us informed Martin. Really appreciate your efforts 🙏🏻👌🏻👍🏻

[darkstatehk]

Thank you Martin for doing what you can to help and for this advice. The UK should be generating it's own energy, period. This is the wake up call that everyone should be paying attention to. And, all mission critical infrastructure that is essential for a society as a whole to function, should absolutely not be in private or publicly traded ownership and especially not under foreign ownership. Utility companies should be run by the people, for the people and in the national tax paying public's interest, not in the interest of shareholders. When it comes to utility bill payment, I always pay by credit card instead of DD. I pay my card in FULL each month, but I earn Airmiles on my credit card. Over time, I get free flights. Pay all your bills where possible with a dedicated credit card that gives rewards and pay your credit card with DD in FULL each month.

[LIVERNIL]

Appreciate it Martin. This is simple and straight forward to understand. We've received letters from EON about the EON Next Account, but there is just far too much print on there and not crucial information about the price changes, the 'best deals' and sound advice.

It's all very well having information online, but you need somebody to vocally explain everything properly so that it is easy to understand.

[elaineseaman]

Thank you, no one else explains like you Martin 👏👍

[thatbikersimon]

Great video, the best switch is to switch it off, as much as you can. Unfortunately we’re all doomed with this one.

[terryrobinson]

This is really worrying especially the effect it's going have on the economy. The more you spend on energy bills the less your going to spend on every day shopping and holidays. My fear is that a lot of people could end up losing their jobs.