Hi all
We’ve announced a change to our Members’ variable rate for electricity - that’s the per unit rate you pay for your energy - and I wanted to give you more information here in the Community.
Our variable rates for electricity are increasing in all regions. Gas unit rates are not changing.
We’re letting our Members know four weeks in advance to give you time to plan.
When do the new electricity rates take effect?
The change to our variable rate for electricity is effective from 4 November 2020 for all existing Members. New Members joining us from today - 7 October - will be quoted and join at the new rates.
What are the new rates?
For a typical dual fuel Member using the Ofgem average of 2,900kWh of elec and 12,000kWh of gas a year, the increase is 3.8%, or £34 a year.
All our Members on our variable tariff will get an email over the next few days with the details about how their annual energy cost is affected.
We are not changing any Direct Debits.
Why are we changing our prices?
Over the past six months, as Covid-19 has unfolded, electricity and gas prices have fluctuated, but have recently started to climb upwards.
This uplift in prices is due to the recent easing of lockdown measures, while the efforts of some overseas countries to kickstart the economy by ramping up production have led to a rise in gas prices.
Non-commodity costs – which make up a large part of your bill – have also been going up. These are the costs of getting the energy to your home and other regulated costs, which are beyond any suppliers’ control, and can make a big difference to the overall costs of tariffs at a retail level.
Why do different regions of the UK have different rates?
The difference in the cost across each geographical region is down to the cost of transporting gas and electricity to your home.
The costs are determined and applied by your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) and we pass these on at cost.
We don’t make money on the transport costs of getting energy to your home.
When did we last put up our prices for our variable rate?
Our last increase to the variable tariff was announced in November 2018 (and didn’t come into effect for existing Members until January 2019).
Since then we’ve also reduced the rate Membership fee in February 2019; and we also cut rates for both electricity and gas in May this year.
Will prices change again in the future?
With our variable tariff, our prices can go down as well as up. If prices go down we’ll pass them on to Members immediately. Having a variable tariff means that all our Members are on a fair, competitive rate - based on wholesale prices.
How does the Pure Planet tariff work?
We have a variable tariff and a fixed tariff.
For variable tariff Members, the rate is the per kilowatt (kWh) unit rate. It’s a pass through rate, based on wholesale costs, which you pay what we pay for your energy. There’s zero markup.
Our Membership fee is the standing charge. It’s the daily rate calculated and collected in 12 equal monthly installments each year. It covers: Your meter maintenance, our people costs, operating and systems costs, our low profit margin and VAT.
Will Direct Debit payments change?
No. We aren’t making any change to their DD payments as a result of this price change. But, we regularly review our Members accounts and will be in touch if we need to adjust their payments to get them back on track.
Where do I find my tariff information?
In your Pure Planet app or web account, choose Menu > Tariff & usage
I joined Pure Planet on the variable tariff with Price Protection. When do the rates increase for me?
We announced our Price Protection in November last year to give people switching to Pure Planet more reassurance. This means you’re protected from the rate increase for two months.
This change will take effect on the day you come off your Price Protection tariff, or 4 November, whichever is later.
We’ve got more information about the wholesale energy market on our blog.
Got any questions? Let’s talk about them below.
Check out this FAQ which compares the variable tariff with out latest fixed tariff.
You may also like: Guide to the Pure Planet tariffs
There’s also more info on our Members’ rates 
