Lock down your Gas and Electricity prices now!

jtzt

I have it on good authority from a senior manager at British Gas that 2006 is not going to be a good year for Gas and Electricity prices - (most electricity in the UK is generated from gas).

The advice that I have been given is to lock your Gas and Electricity prices now

It is possible to get out of lock-in's so don't be put off!

You have been warned!

jem16

So you want me to spend 30-36% more than I'm paying at present to go onto a capped tariff?

I could always save that and put it in a savings account just in case.

Thanks for the advice but I think I'll gamble.

Cardew

jem16,

You have mentioned these % savings several times. - from London Energy on-line?

I have looked at their web-site and I cannot find any tariff that has savings of that magnitude over the BG fixed to 2010 tariff. I am not saying you are wrong; just I cannot see where you get those savings.

The BG tariffs(incl VAT) are for Direct Debit):

Gas: 3.032p for the first 1,143 per quarter. Then 2.1139

Electricity(Scotish Power region) 13.798p for the first 225 per quarter. Then 7.764p

I have left off the Dual Fuel and paperless billing discounts from BG.

For London Energy the rates I see are:

Gas: 3.024p for the first 1,465 units per quarter(not 1,143) Then 1.903p

Electric 15.02 for the first 225 units Then 8.47p

You get approx £50 per year discount for Dual Fuel and Direct Debit.

Now unless there is a tariff with prices much cheaper than those I can find on the web site it looks to me like London Electricity prices are much higher than BG for Electricity and although cheaper for gas, nothing like the 30-36% you are stating.

Could you please let us all know exactly what price per kWh you have from London Energy for Gas and Electricity.

devon-gnome

Hi jtzt
please could you tell me how to get out of a SWEB lock-in scheme which unfortunately I signed to join a few weeks ago.
Since then, I've discovered that changing supplier could save me over £100 p.a.

jem16

Cardew,

The London Energy ONLINE tariff is ONLY available through the comparison sites. If you go to London Energy's website the tariff is much higher.

My tariff is;
Gas 2.231p for the first 1145 per quarter, then 1.590p

Electricty 9.45p for first 222 per quarter, then 6.027p

This tariff is only available for dual fuel.

Here is my comparison, based on actual usage in the last year, from Energyhelpline.

Energyhelpline comparison

This clearly shows I would pay from 29% to 36% extra to have a capped tariff. As I said it's still a gamble but it might cover me for a couple of years and more if I was sensible enough to put my monthly savings aside

us,thecat&thedebt

beware its in british gas t&c that if you try to get out of lock in prices you must pay £75 charge!!!!

ill stick with my cheap supplier thanks

Cardew

jem16 wrote:

Cardew,

The London Energy ONLINE tariff is ONLY available through the comparison sites. If you go to London Energy's website the tariff is much higher.

My tariff is;
Gas 2.231p for the first 1145 per quarter, then 1.590p

Electricty 9.45p for first 222 per quarter, then 6.027p

This tariff is only available for dual fuel.

Here is my comparison, based on actual usage in the last year, from Energyhelpline.

Energyhelpline comparison

This clearly shows I would pay from 29% to 36% extra to have a capped tariff. As I said it's still a gamble but it might cover me for a couple of years and more if I was sensible enough to put my monthly savings aside

Jem16,

Thanks, that’s very interesting and excellent savings; although I think you will find that it is 1465 units per quarter(not 1143) – not that that makes much difference. Also you get further discounts for paperless billing and dual fuel with BG to reduce the differential.

As a matter of interest I entered my details into the same comparison site that you gave – I live in the Midlands and I use more gas & electricity than you and although London Electricity on-line was the cheapest, my percentage savings were only one half of yours.

For Midlands customers BG electricity, is 8.5% cheaper than the Scottish Power area. For Midlands customers London Electricity on-line electricity is 7.6% dearer than the Scottish Power area. I also get paperless billing and dual fuel discount which reduces the differential between BG and London Electricity even further.

So although we are both gambling you have ‘far better odds’ in Scotland than I have in the Midlands in that your current savings are far higher than mine.

Surely the lesson learnt from this is to qualify any statement about potential savings by stating that this only applies to a particular geographic area. Also it depends on the ratio of gas to electricity you use.

What I have been saying in a number of threads is that it is just not possible to make simplistic statements indicating that there is a ‘one size fits all’ answer to queries on the best gas/electricity/water supplier.

P.S. I note that the comparison site gave Powergen the highest rating for Service - better than BG and London Electricty - fills me with confidence!!

Cardew

us,thecat&thedebt wrote:

beware its in british gas t&c that if you try to get out of lock in prices you must pay £75 charge!!!!

ill stick with my cheap supplier thanks

That is if you cancel both Gas and Electricity together before 2008 and then it reduces; it can be as little as £15. It also doesn't apply if you move house.

Frankly even £75 isn't a huge deterrent if you are dealing with bills over 4+years of thousands of pounds.

jem16

Cardew wrote:

Jem16,

Thanks, that’s very interesting and excellent savings; although I think you will find that it is 1465 units per quarter(not 1143) – not that that makes much difference.

Sorry, my mistake on typing. It actually says 1445 per 90 days as opposed to 1145 per quarter. As you say not a big difference anyway.

For Midlands customers BG electricity, is 8.5% cheaper than the Scottish Power area. For Midlands customers London Electricity on-line electricity is 7.6% dearer than the Scottish Power area. I also get paperless billing and dual fuel discount which reduces the differential between BG and London Electricity even further.

Maybe I should move to the Midlands :rolleyes:

So although we are both gambling you have ‘far better odds’ in Scotland than I have in the Midlands in that your current savings are far higher than mine.

Surely the lesson learnt from this is to qualify any statement about potential savings by stating that this only applies to a particular geographic area. Also it depends on the ratio of gas to electricity you use.

What I have been saying in a number of threads is that it is just not possible to make simplistic statements indicating that there is a ‘one size fits all’ answer to queries on the best gas/electricity/water supplier.

It appears that that's very true.

P.S. I note that the comparison site gave Powergen the highest rating for Service - better than BG and London Electricty - fills me with confidence!!

I certainly haven't read many good reports about Powergen recently. However I have to say I've been having problems with BG recently too which, along with the savings, convinced me to move.

jtzt

devon-gnome, I don't know the details of the SWEB T's and C's but as others are pointing out, paying the (relatively) small "penalty" fee could save £1000's over the life of the lock-in period! I would contact them to find out what the cost is...

jem16

jtzt wrote:

devon-gnome, I don't know the details of the SWEB T's and C's but as others are pointing out, paying the (relatively) small "penalty" fee could save £1000's over the life of the lock-in period! I would contact them to find out what the cost is...

Only one person has said it might save.

Personally I don't think it will save £1000's by locking myself into a tariff for 5 years - BG aren't a charity.