Martin Lewis blasts 'moral hazard' that will be added to energy bills from April
28.03.2024 - 12:15
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Personal finance guru Martin Lewis has spoken out on his podcast about the 'moral hazard' of increasing standing charges on energy bills from next month, which he likened to a modern-day 'poll tax' on ordinary people.
From April 6, the price per unit of gas or electricity is set to fall substantially, with the cost of using gas falling by almost 20 per cent in the North West. However, at the same time, the fixed standing charge tacked onto each day's bill for Direct Debit customers is set to increase by seven per cent to 31.6p per day.
Speaking on his The Martin Lewis Podcast, the financial guru said: "I have long campaigned about the moral hazard of this poll tax of paying well over £300 a year just for having the facility of having gas and electricity, which means lower users get relatively less gain from cutting their use."
READ MORE: Temu issues statement over 'free money' adverts as users ask if it's real
The standing charge was set up to cover the daily running costs of energy companies, from the cost of laying cable and maintaining the network, to the staff that interact with customers and keep the business running. But many who have cut their energy use to save money are critical of the standing charge for penalising their good habits.
Martin Lewis continued: "I know it is outrageous, it is ridiculous and we should move some of that cost to the unit rates. I have spoken on the program before though about why it is more difficult than people think to do that because of vulnerable high users."
Some households containing people with disabilities or certain health conditions can have a disproportionately high energy consumption as they require extra heating during the day, or the use of equipment that draws a
The website celebfans.org is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.