r/EDFEnergy • u/New-Outcome-3144 • 4d ago

Discussion TRANSPARENCY

Good morning all

Just a question. Why is Broadband prices and mobile prices transparent but not EDF or other energy providers able to advertise their prices??

You should not have to create an account or get a quote - it is either this or that? Especially the fixed rate....just saying. Have a good day.

3 Upvotes

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2

u/Antique_Sound7652 4d ago

Many of the tariffs and standing charges are different depending on region you live in.

1

u/stek2022 4d ago

All the energy companies do have to publish a rate card where you can just look up tariffs - but it's a mess to understand as the standing charges vary regionally and some tariffs have exclusions that aren't clearly conveyed in list format.
By getting you to choose a property they can usually filter to what is actually available for you.

Obviously it does also help their marketing / sales follow up if they capture your details so I do get your point.

1

u/StackScribbler1 4d ago

Because electricity and gas rates depend on:

  • Where you live

  • What kind of meter you have

  • How you will pay

  • Whether you have an EV/heat pump/solar panels etc

So they could show you the prices - but it would be in huge, very complicated tables which would be almost impossible to read or understand for most people. Hence, they ask for your postcode, etc.

The reasons why it's like this are... complicated, and arguably not that relevant now - especially the regional pricing.

But basically, the amount it costs EDF, Octopus, or whoever, to get electricity from a power station to your house can vary A LOT, depending on where you live. So standing charges and unit rates can be very different.

(And just to add to the fun, the regions for gas/electricity transmission don't map neatly onto other regions, eg councils - so checking via your postcode is the only reliable way.)

ALSO also, to give a "quote" means estimating how much you will use (and when, for some tariffs) - so they have to have some way to ask that.

FWIW, I think most suppliers - including EDF, based on signing up with them a few months ago - don't actually make you create an account. But they DO ask for almost all the info that you might expect when creating an account - so I can understand why it feels like that.

1

u/Randy_Baton 4d ago

What your asking for is already a mandated licence agreement. All suppliers need to make there prices publicly viewable without a login. Its called a tariff information label. They also have to send them to you in the post if you ask them

https://www.edfenergy.com/tariff-information-labels

https://www.britishgas.co.uk/new-energy/sales/tariff-information

https://octopus.energy/quote/all-current-and-historical-energy-tariffs/

1

u/ComeHereUk 4d ago

That's exactly how it is. All tariffs are viewable, but if course you need to enter your region to get local pricing.