Nia Griffith MP has slammed the new £100 standing charge levied by local electricity provider Swalec (now part of SSE) as a real kick in the teeth for people who are struggling to keep their electricity bills down.
The new charges introduced in October and now feeding through into household bills leave customers paying £100 per year standing charge for electricity and £200 if they also get gas from Swalec.
Nia Griffith said,
“Doubling the standing charge in less than 15 months, is hitting low users disproportionately hard, punishing people who are struggling to keep their bills down and who switch off appliances whenever they can. Now no matter how much they switch off, whether to save money or save the planet, Swalec (now SSE) is taking £100 off them just to stay connected, and £200 if they have gas as well from Swalec. And the SSE website tells us that is £50 profit for SSE per household per fuel ! This is a kick in the teeth for loyal customers; SSE know jolly well that many customers who have stuck with the traditional South Wales company for years are probably the least likely to switch provider. It is all very well to say that consumers can shop around and switch provider, but without easy internet access, it is pretty well impossible to compare prices, and low users are likely to be the very people who do not have Internet.In any case, comparisons can be very confusing and people are wary of switching supplier only to find the goalposts changing again.”