§ Mr. Hilary BennTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the average cost of(a) 650 therms of gas and (b) 8,000 units of electricity to consumers (i) paying by direct debit and (ii) paying by means of a pre-payment meter in each of the last 10 years, excluding the last 12 months for which figures are available. [118365]
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§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 10 April 2000]:The information to produce estimates of costs on this basis for the last ten years is not readily available. Estimates of these costs for the years for which this information is available (1998 and 1999) are given in Table 1 as are equivalent bills for customers on standard credit terms. The majority of customers are still on standard credit terms. The available information on bills for earlier years is presented in Table 2. This is based on different levels of consumption to those stated in the question.
Table 1: Estimated annual electricity and gas bills for domestic consumers1 Cash terms (£) Payment method Standard quarterly credit Monthly direct debit Pre-payment meter Gas (650 therms) 1998 331 292 349 19992 320 281 336 Electricity (8,000 kWh) 1998 600 580 611 19992 594 574 608 1 Average UK bills, including VAT 2 Provisional
Table la: Estimated annual electricity and gas bills for domestic consumers1 Real terms 1999 prices2 (£) Payment method Standard quarterly credit Monthly direct debit Pre-payment meter Gas (650 therms) 1998 329 289 345 19993 320 281 336 Electricity (8,000 kWh) 1998 610 590 624 19993 594 574 608 1Average UK bills, including VAT 2Real 1999 terms calculated using the GDP (market prices) deflator 3Provisional 279W
Table 2: Estimated gas and electricity bills for domestic consumers Cash terms1(£) Payment method Standard quarterly credit Monthly direct debit2 Pre-payment meter Gas (18,000 kWh, 614 Therms) 1990 285 n/a 303 1995 327 311 347 1996 330 308 350 1997 328 307 348 1998 315 277 331 19993 305 267 318 Electricity (3,300 kWh,) 1990 245 n/a 264 1995 300 295 319 1996 297 295 317 1997 285 277 302 1998 268 258 285 19993 265 256 282 1Average UK bills, including VAT where payable, VAT was charged at 8 per cent, from 1994 and at 5 per cent, from September 1997 2 The monthly direct debit payment method was not widely available in 1990 3Provisional
Table 2a: Estimated gas and electricity bills for domestic consumers Real 1999 terms1 (£) Payment method Standard quarterly credit Monthly direct debit2 Pre-payment meter Gas (18,000 kWh, 614 Therms) 1990 381 n/a 405 1995 368 350 391 1996 360 336 381 1997 348 325 369 1998 324 285 340 19993 305 267 318 Electricity (3,300 kWh,) 1990 328 n/a 354 1995 337 332 359 1996 324 322 345 1997 302 294 320 1998 275 265 293 19993 265 255 282 1Real 1999 terms calculated using the GDP (market prices) deflator 2The monthly direct debit payment method was not widely available in 1990 3Provisional