EDF announces changes to standard variable electricity tariff

• Standing charge on standard variable electricity to increase
• Impact for standard variable dual fuel Direct Debit customers will be 1.4% (+£16) to £1,158 from June 7th [1] 
• Fifty-nine per cent of EDF Energy customers will NOT be affected by the price changes
• Charges for using cash or cheque payment will increase by £6 per fuel per year [2]
• Affected customers will be encouraged to choose a fixed tariff or to save by switching to Direct Debit

EDF Energy is today announcing a change to its standard variable electricity tariff, effective from June 7th. Fifty-nine per cent of EDF Energy customers who are already on a fixed tariff, have a Direct Debit gas only account, or are on the safeguard tariff or prepayment meter will be unaffected by this change.

EDF Energy’s standard variable dual fuel Direct Debit tariff will increase by 1.4% to £1,158 a year (+£16) [1] following an increase in the standing charge for electricity to 23.28p a day, (an increase of 2.7% on a typical electricity bill) reflecting the increase in some of the fixed costs associated with supplying electricity. There will be no change to gas prices for Direct Debit customers.

There will also be an increase in the charges for customers choosing to pay by cash or cheque by £6 per fuel per year [2] to be closer to the real cost of serving these customers – this change will apply to our standard variable tariffs and future fixed tariffs. A dual fuel standard variable customer choosing to pay by cash or cheque will see a combined increase of £28 a year (+2.3%) to £1,248 a year [3].

EDF Energy continues to face pressures with energy, policy and the costs of installing smart meters all increasing significantly since last summer. Ofgem found that costs have risen by an average of more than £57 [4] over the previous six months when they reviewed and increased the level of the prepayment and safeguard tariff caps in February.

EDF Energy Managing Director of Customers Béatrice Bigois said: “We know that price rises are not welcome and we have worked to offset rising energy and policy charges by cutting our own costs. However, these rising costs mean we will be increasing our standing charge for electricity on the 7th June, affecting around 40% of our customers. Most of our customers, those on a fixed tariff, or who have a Direct Debit gas only account, a safeguard tariff or prepayment meter will be unaffected by this change.

"We will be writing to affected customers this month to encourage them to choose a fixed price tariff or to pay by Direct Debit to save on their bills.”

EDF Energy has done more than many suppliers to encourage customers to choose their energy tariff with 43% of customers having selected fixed tariffs. So far this year we have written to over 1 million customers to provide energy saving advice. All impacted customers will be written to this month, providing personalised information on how these changes will affect how much they pay. These letters will provide customers with information on cheaper tariffs, and for those paying by cash or cheque there will be additional detail on savings available if they switch to Direct Debit.

[1] Based on a dual fuel direct debit bill at typical consumption averaged across all regions. Typical use as defined by Ofgem is 3,100kWh standard electricity and 12,000kWh gas.

[2] Based on typical consumption. Typical use as defined by Ofgem is 3,100kWh standard electricity and 12,000kWh gas.

[3] Based on a dual fuel cash/cheque bill at typical consumption averaged across all regions. Typical use as defined by Ofgem is 3,100kWh standard electricity and 12,000kWh gas.

[4] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/gas/retail-market/market-review-and-reform/implementation-cma-remedies/safeguard-tariff-or-price-cap