Southern Electric Price Fix 2008 - stick or switch *now*?

far

Here's an interesting thought - we're on Southern Electric's Price Fix 2008 tariff which means no increase in gas or electricity prices until the end of November this year. However, as we all know, capped deals might start getting more expensive soon. The Price Fix tariff has already helped us avoid the impact of the first set of price rises earlier this year and will help us avoid the second set of price rises that are starting currently - at least until the end of November. The question then is - is it worth sticking till the end of November and then switching to what could be quite an expensive tariff (fixed or not) or is it worth switching now to a tariff that will fix prices until the end of 2009? In our case, by my quick calculations, it works out marginally cheaper if we jumped ship now but it's close and there is always a chance that the worst may not happen (however slim!) and price increases may not be as bad as have been feared.

dave_dph

I had to make the same decision as you.

I am in the West Mids on Ec 7 with no gas. The Price Fix 2008 tariff worked out at £543 per year and was by far the cheapest option for me. I checked what my bill would be after the price fix deal came to an end, Southern's next best offer was their online tariff which came out at £702 per year. This figure would also go up with any price increase, so I decided to jump ship.

At the time, Scottish Power's Fixed Price 2011 was still available and that's what I went for. Fair enough it works out at £678 per year but that is less than Southern's standard rates and there will be no increase until Feb 2011.

I am glad I made the switch, Southern are my preferred supplier but the price also has to be right! The switch to SP went very smoothly and their online account management is very good. No complaints.

mech_2

I was on SE Price Fix 2008 and also switched to Scottish Power fix 2011 - exactly the same as dave_dph.

When I switched, cashback was available on quidco and I think that it will probably cover the higher costs with this being a low-usage time of year. To be honest I'm glad I switched already. SP 2011 SE only seem to bill every quarter and their website was frequently unavailable, whereas SP will bill instantly whenever I submit a meter reading on their website and it generates usage graphs too. I like that.

nickmack

far wrote: »

Here's an interesting thought.

I'm another who has the same dilemma. I'm currently on NSC Online Fixed 2008 (Economy 7) Electricity which means:

14.917p Day Tier 1
8.155p Day Tier 2
3.43p Night

On usage of 5900 day and 3500 night pa, this is about £662/year.

The new Fixed Price 2009 is:

21.225p Day Tier 1
9.797p Day Tier 2
4.321p Night

Discounted Energy is:

16.062p Day Tier 1
9.503p Day Tier 2
4.192p Night

So they would need to increase the Discounted tariff by at least 9% until the Fixed period ends to make it worthwhile to take the Fixed deal for me.

xpl51

SSE are yet to announce any replacements to the Fixed Rate 2008 as it`s not due to finish till Nov. They have had fixed tariffs for last 2 years so a new 1 may be available. Just have to keep eye out too many people have panicked & bailed out as if the worlds gonna end !!!!