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Haven Power slams transmission charges

Business electricity supplier Haven Power has insisted that increasing the length of the price control period for electricity transmission has “failed to stabilise” transmission charges.

It said in its submission to an Ofgem consultation that the “sizeable jumps” in Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) tariffs “year on year”, and the unreliability of National Grid’s forecast just a year ahead, are a “serious problem” affecting suppliers’ ability to competitively price their contracts.

Haven Power requires stable forecasted costs as the majority of its customers opt for 12 or 24 month term contracts.

The supplier said it either has to build a premium into its prices to cover volatility and risk being uncompetitive, or rely on the National Grid Electricity Transmission forecast and risk creating loss-making tariffs.

Haven Power is already attempting to increase the notice period for publishing TNUoS tariffs to 15 months, as is the case for distribution use of system tariffs, although it said an increase to six or eight months from April 2017 is “likely”.

The general level of increase over the last three years in final tariffs has averaged 17.4 per cent per annum in half hourly metering, and 19.8 per cent in non-half hourly, well above the 10 per cent per annum increase Haven Power expected.

Parent company to big six supplier Npower, RWE, also said in its submission to the same consultation that volatility in gas transmission is becoming an increasing problem.