Utilities price increase April 2023

To see your new tariffs, please refer to the email we sent you on Tuesday 28 March as they vary per building. We've also included an example of what you might expect to pay on the new tariffs if your usage is in line with your current direct debit payments.
If you're a new resident, your tariffs can be found on your monthly statement in the utilities portal.

On 1 April of every year, we secure a new 12-month fixed-term agreement. Our energy partner sets annual rates based on several factors, including the cost of energy purchased during the fixed period. The energy has been purchased in smaller volumes in the past few months, but wholesale energy costs have been at record highs, so the energy purchased is more than usual.

Living in a large apartment block means that our utilities set-up is classed as commercial. Under normal conditions, this means we can get energy deals for our residents that are often better than most competitive domestic deals available. In the last few years, we've secured very competitive tariffs for you, which have protected you from the recent energy price increases we’ve seen across the UK for domestic customers. However, during the past 18 months, the energy markets have been at an all-time high, so in some cases, it has not been possible to get energy at EPG rates. As part of the EPG, the government aimed to undercut the wholesale energy market, but unfortunately, it didn't cover customers with commercial meters. If any support does become available, we'll make sure the tariff reflects it and the benefit is passed onto you.

A standing charge is a fixed daily amount every UK resident has to pay for energy and water, no matter how much you use. Every apartment pays the charge and it covers the suppliers costs of delivering energy from generating to supply as well as the costs associated with managing the utilities to your apartment. All energy and water companies charge a standing charge and it is similar to line rental charges you would typically pay on a landline phone contract.

• New tariffs start: The changes to the utilities tariffs are effective from 1 April, and any over or under utility use will be applied to your quarterly reconciliations as usual. 
   
• Reviewing your usage: We know cost increases can be worrying, so we want to give everyone plenty of time to minimise the impact, if they wish to. The good news is that with warmer weather coming, we're expecting utility usage to drop anyway. We will review the current usage by the number of bedrooms to determine if an increase in the monthly utilities payment you currently pay may be necessary. If an uplift is needed, we'll let you know 30 days in advance.
   
• Access your current utilities bills: During this time, if you would like to see how much you are spending per month on the increased tariffs, you can view this in your utilities portal on your monthly statement.

If you want to work out your current spending on the new tariff, you can do so by doing these calculations using your latest energy bill. Here is an example of what your monthly statement looks like. You can use your new rates from the table above to calculate all your standing and utilities charges (e.g heat, electricity, water) and get a total for the month.

*Your standing charge will show as a metering charge on your monthly statement.

This tariff is fixed for 12 months until 31 March 2024. For certain buildings, the heat and hot water unit charge may rise in October 2023 as the suppliers fixed contract comes to an end. This is also the case for the heat standing charge which will be uplifted on 1 May rather than 1 April. If either of these changes apply to you, you will be able to find out in the email sent to you on Tuesday 28 March. If any support does become available from the government, we'll make sure the tariff reflects it and the benefit is passed onto you.

Making just a few small changes in your home can have a big impact on your energy bills and can help you save money. Don’t forget to check out the MoneySavingExpert saving tips here.

You still have time to apply for the £400 energy support from the Government before 31 May 2023, if you have not already done so. To apply, click here and select the first option when describing your place of residence. Once the application has been processed, Brent Council will verify your residency ensuring you are eligible for the program. You should get a response within 6 weeks. Once confirmed, they will arrange a one-off payment directly to your bank account. 

Wholesale energy costs are driven by external factors including the amount of gas supply to the UK (which in turn drives the cost of electricity up), the amount of gas storage, the weather patterns, planned maintenance on the distribution network, the reliability on gas by Europe and political factors like the war in Ukraine. 

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the gas supply from Russia was reduced significantly meaning many countries which relied on Russian gas had to source elsewhere driving the price of energy up due to supply concerns. It was at this point that the energy wholesale prices started to rise and reached around 10 times their levels in 2021 at their peak.

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) is an energy support scheme, from the government, to help reduce the impact of rising energy prices. To provide support, they capped the cost energy providers could charge customers on a domestic contract and subsidised the difference directly. This was set for 6 months from October 1 2022 and was supposed to rise again in April 2023. It was announced in March 2023 that it would not rise as planned in April, but it is still planned to rise in July 2023. The EPG only applies to domestic customers on a variable contract. 

Your unit rate is made up of the cost of the actual wholesale energy at the time it was purchased and also the fixed costs from the supplier which covers a range of costs associated with renewable power and transmission of energy, known as a non commodity charge. The non commodity costs are fixed each year just before the tariff is agreed and are set by our energy partner. You can find out more information on what makes up a unit cost here.  

VAT (Value Added Tax) has always been charged on your energy but it has previously been included in the unit rate and standing charges. To be clearer on what makes up your costs, your VAT is going to be split out from 1 April so you can see what is being charged. VAT at 5% is applicable to electricity, heating and hot water. Fresh and waste water is not charged VAT.

Your meter only provides one daily read to the supplier and therefore it is not possible to provide a day/night rate as they are not able to apportion the usage to the correct time period. Instead, your rate is blended so the cheaper night element of the rate is blended into the day rate reducing it and creating a lower flat overall rate. This means that you get the benefit of the cheaper night rate for any usage in the day so as an example, although you may not get a cheaper rate for doing you washing at night, all your day time usage is cheaper because of this.

You can't change supplier as the energy set up at Quintain Living is commercial with a commercial supplier. Under normal conditions, this means we have been able to get the best energy deals for you that is often better than the more competitive deals available to the domestic market. During the past 18 months, the energy markets have been at an all-time high, and this has made it challenging to beat the general market as most suppliers did not offer fixed-term contracts.

Added to this, the metering infrastructure on site doesn’t give residents to option to choose their individual supplier. This set up was chosen at the development stage to provide competitive tariffs for residents as well as manage all utilities under one bill. This means you do not need to search for the best energy deals, pay multiple suppliers and manage multiple utilities. In addition, your utilities are already set up when you move in and will end when you move out to make things easier for you.