We’re committed to reducing the impact that higher costs might have on you in the future
Utilities: what we’re doing to secure you value for money
If you live in a block, house or Independent Living scheme that has communal lighting and/or heating, or shared outdoor lighting that bpha supplies, you contribute towards the cost of the energy used.
You do this either through a service charge, or by making payments to Switch2.
As you will know, the cost of living has increased significantly over the last year. Utilities in particular saw an unprecedented price hike. While we always do what we can to secure the best prices for you, we understand it’s more important now than ever and we’re committed to reducing the impact that higher costs might have on you in the future.
We work with an independent energy broker that monitors costs and advises us when a good rate is available. Our aim is to get you the best value we can. That has led to us securing a new fixed contract, which is in place from April 2024 until March 2025. This relates to energy supplied through bpha only.
The costs are below the domestic price cap. In the table below you can see the price in pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). One kilowatt hour is the amount of energy you would use if you kept a 1,000-watt appliance running for an hour.
What does that mean? According to EDF, this is how it works for a TV with a 500 W power rating (kW rating of 0.5).
1. Multiply 0.5 by the time you spend watching the TV – say four hours a day. That means your 0.5 kW TV uses 2 kWh per day (0.5 x 4 = 2 kWh)
2. If your electricity price per kWh is £0.34, your TV will cost £0.68 per day to run (2kWh x £0.34).
Prices exclude VAT and standing charge.
If your usage stays the same, the energy part of your service charge could come down next April. If usage increases, then the costs could remain similar, or increase.
Keeping utility costs down typically means entering into a contract with a supplier for a fixed time period when there is a good price available – as we have just done. We usually fix once a year for 12 months. Committing to a fixed rate means unit costs are set; they don’t change until the contract finishes.
We’ve been advised by our energy broker, that, in the future, fixing for longer than 12 months could secure a better value contract, so this is something we’re considering.
The government has announced a new energy bills discount scheme (EBDS) for those on a heat network. We have registered our heat networks and are awaiting to hear whether discounts are available for us. Any discounts that may apply will be passed on and we will contact you directly about this.
We will keep you up to date with progress on all of the above.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch:
Email: utilitiesconsultation2023@bpha.org.uk
WhatsApp message: 01234 923233
Call us on: 0330 100 0272 option 3
Webchat access through bpha website: www.bpha.org.uk/contact-us/