{"value":{"id":786997,"askingMemberId":1579,"askingMember":null,"house":"Commons","memberHasInterest":false,"dateTabled":"2017-11-10T00:00:00","dateForAnswer":"2017-11-14T00:00:00","uin":"112241","questionText":"To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations his Department has received on electricity and gas suppliers increasing standing charges to customers who have reduced their consumption of electricity or gas.","answeringBodyId":201,"answeringBodyName":"Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy","isWithdrawn":false,"isNamedDay":false,"groupedQuestions":[],"answerIsHolding":false,"answerIsCorrection":false,"answeringMemberId":4115,"answeringMember":null,"correctingMemberId":null,"correctingMember":null,"dateAnswered":"2017-11-16T00:00:00","answerText":"<p>BEIS Ministers and officials have received representations concerning the standing charge, which reflects the on-going costs that fall on to a supplier regardless how much energy their individual customers use. The setting of a standing charge is a commercial matter for individual companies so they are free to offer tariffs with a low standing charge or, even set the standing charge at zero to attract low energy users (the on-going costs are included in a higher unit rate which customers only pay when using energy).</p><p>The draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill published by the Government on 12 October introduces an absolute price cap on standard variable and default tariffs. This means the level of the cap, which Ofgem will set, will be the maximum amount suppliers can charge customers (for unit rate and standing charge combined) on standard variable and default tariffs.</p>","originalAnswerText":"","comparableAnswerText":"","dateAnswerCorrected":null,"dateHoldingAnswer":null,"attachmentCount":0,"heading":"Energy: Standing Charges","attachments":[],"groupedQuestionsDates":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Questions/786997","method":"GET"}]}