@batalto they can also afford 'good tax advice'.

It's irrelevant, it is to support cost of living, not contribute to luxury. So, I don't accept that, as our Children will be footing the bill for many years to come.

It should have been capped with a letter from a relevant source such as powering medical equipment to be exempt. Is this levelling up?

Seems its not just me that's noticed.

BBC News - Rich to get twice as much cost-of-living support, says think tank
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62882964

Posted by: @diverted-energy

It should have been capped with a letter from a relevant source such as powering medical equipment to be exempt. Is this levelling up?

Valid point. Levelling Up is Government Policy.

I have already alerted my MP to another aspect of Levelling Up which has been ignored/overlooked by the energy industry. As is required, a 'request for a response' has been forwarded to the relevant Ministry.

You should do likewise. It will obviously carry greater weight if you cite from the Levelling Up Policy Statements as an illustration of where a breach has occurred.

Posted by: @transparent

Posted by: @diverted-energy

It should have been capped with a letter from a relevant source such as powering medical equipment to be exempt. Is this levelling up?

Valid point. Levelling Up is Government Policy.

I have already alerted my MP to another aspect of Levelling Up which has been ignored/overlooked by the energy industry. As is required, a 'request for a response' has been forwarded to the relevant Ministry.

You should do likewise. It will obviously carry greater weight if you cite from the Levelling Up Policy Statements as an illustration of where a breach has occurred.

Interesting. Am not sure the Energy Price Guarantee has been positioned as anything to do with Levelling up?

There has been nothing in the government announcement for the guarantee about levelling up. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-energy-price-guarantee-for-families-and-businesses-while-urgently-taking-action-to-reform-broken-energy-market

Not every policy will directly support Levelling up, e.g. scrapping the national insurance rise, potentially removing the cap on banker bonuses etc. 

Whether it should have been a Levelling Up policy is another matter.

I am certain we will see a lot more policies not directly linked to levelling up now we have a new PM and cabinet.

This is just the start with the new focus on overall growth.

Posted by: @jeff

Am not sure the Energy Price Guarantee has been positioned as anything to do with Levelling up?

It's meant to the other way around. Levelling Up is a policy which must be adhered to throughout all aspects of Government action:

From the Levelling Up executive-summary:

Central government decision‐making will be fundamentally
reoriented to align policies with the levelling up agenda [...]
It will mean running levelling up through central government decision-making
as a golden thread for which departments are held accountable.

That gives us citizens the ability to challenge decisions which fail to embrace Levelling Up. It doesn't need to be specifically referred to.

Health of people (their 'well being') is identified as one of the six criteria where we should see Levelling Up applied.

The affordability of operating medical equipment at home varies across the country. Those statistics are already available and can be cross-checked with the prevalence of long-term illness and premature death.

I think @diverted-energy has identified something which has been overlooked.

It makes perfect sense for those who cannot afford to run medical equipment at home to be given an allowance for their energy use this winter. The alternative is that they don't run it and hence get hospitalised. That is an additional expense to the NHS which can be avoided.

We can already see other aspects of the Energy Price Guarantee which are 'unfair' and will need to be tweeked. So the earlier that BEIS is made aware of the "home-based medical equipment" issue, the earlier they can incorporate it within the changes.

@transparent if medical is the focus, based on my experience of writing Equality Impact Assessments EIA, you would be better off asking if an EIA had been created and what consideration had been made for people with home medical equipment.

Disability is a protected characteristic, much more weight than anything in the Levelling up agenda anyway.

A PQ was asked about the prior EBSS Energy Bill Support Scheme

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-03-03/134011/

There was also a petition where the government replied on their EBSS scheme (extra money for people who get PIPs etc) and the existing electricity refunds for some medical equipment use in the home

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/610300?reveal_response=yes

You could ask an MP to raise a PQ and you could post a petition as well as anything else you are considering.

So basically the previous EBSS gave £150 which my disabled brother gets in September due to his PIP.

Local authorities were also given money as part of the EBSS to make discretionary payments, and i would encourage any disabled people to apply and see what happens.

Electricity for home medical equipment is a very long running campaign topic.....

The NEA mentioned the needs of those with medical equipment in their reply to government on the Energy Price Guarantee

https://www.nea.org.uk/news/fuel-poverty-charitys-reaction-to-liz-trusss-energy-freeze-announcement-today/?parent=about-us/media-centre/media/

There were  similar responses from other charities which is common with many policies like this. 

It's completely skewed in favour of those that can afford luxuries to run them cheaper, not helping those returning food to food banks due to not being able to afford the energy to cook.

All at everyone else's expense.. Government money is our money and again the help is wrongly focused against those in greatest need.

Many couldn't afford electricity at the old 15p/kwh, let alone 34p.

@robl, sensible. Having a backup and contingency is always good. I can’t believe you’re charged a standing fee if your has usage is zero.

@editor

If you are a dual energy user you have to pay the standing charge for each, whether you use any energy or not. That is why I maintain that the standing charges should be incorporated into the unit charge, so that the more you use, the more you have to pay. This would create more of an incentive to use less energy.

Boiler coming off mains Gas to LPG at the end of this month. Standing Charges will cover the cost of 1.5x 47kg bottles  I'll need 5x to get me through Winter. If calculations prove correct, disconnecting at end of March.

12000 BTU Air to Air downstairs and a 24000 BTU to cover upstairs should be enough above 6 'C to avoid Boiler run. Beyond that, Oil Heaters and boiler to fall back on.

I have 3 sources of electricity, two options on Gas with a last resort, 15x 13kg Butane for a portable gas heater.

So many have told me I am a doomsday teller these last 9 months.

Seems its not just me that believes supply is an issue.this Winter. my main concernis protecting family and if that means an unused £65 Gas heater to sell next year plus some Butane gas bottles to caravanners then a small price to pay for reassurance.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bks6?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

@derek-m, full agree with that.

Just read this update on E.ON’s website pertaining to the price cap:

The price cap applies to you if you're on one of our standard variable tariffs, like our Next Flex or E.ON EnergyPlan. We'll contact customers on these tariffs to let them know what this means for them.

The new cap level does not apply to you right now if you are on a fixed-term tariff. If you're on a fixed-term energy tariff, your prices will stay the same until your tariff-term ends.

We’ve stayed on a variable tariff, but I was under the impression that those on exorbitant fixed tariffs were also protected.

Posted by: @editor

Just read this update on E.ON’s website pertaining to the price cap:

The price cap applies to you if you're on one of our standard variable tariffs, like our Next Flex or E.ON EnergyPlan. We'll contact customers on these tariffs to let them know what this means for them.

The new cap level does not apply to you right now if you are on a fixed-term tariff. If you're on a fixed-term energy tariff, your prices will stay the same until your tariff-term ends.

We’ve stayed on a variable tariff, but I was under the impression that those on exorbitant fixed tariffs were also protected.

The text applies to the Ofgem Price Cap.

The new government scheme is called the Energy Price Guarantee.

The old government scheme is the EBSS which is also still running, Energy Bill Support Scheme. 

Basically the page is a mix of wording covering all the schemes.

Ofgem are continuing to calculate the Ofgem price cap while the Energy Price Guarantee is in place.

People on fixed rates benefit from the Energy Price Guarantee, just as a discount subject to a price floor. Plus all the major suppliers are allowing free switching from fixed to variable, which will help a few people with very high fixed rates where the discount is insufficient.