Capped tariff ends in April - when to switch?

Pincher

Thanks, Cardew.

So I have been paying 50% more lately, rising from parity five years ago.

Assuming I was paying £1,000 a year for 2004, it means I would be paying £1,500 for 2009. Assuming a straight line increase in tariff, I was paying:

2005 £1,100
2006 £1,200
2007 £1,300
2008 £1,400
2009 £1,500

Whereas on the Protection 2010 I would have been paying
£1,000 for those five years. The difference is therefore roughly £1,500 (100+200+300+400+500). Actually, I paid £2,000 in 2007, but that was unusually high.

Actually, in the manner of the Times Fantasy Portfolio competition, we should have a money saver competition.
One entry per registered user. Assume a standard household with 12 monthly consumption cycles. You are allowed to switch any month, but you can't switch again for three months. Switching out before maturity should incur some kind of penalty. Simplified versions of real tariffs (fixed, discount etc.) will be added to allow selection. Changes in basic rates will be updated next month, otherwise it gets complicated. This is also good for illustrating switching strategies by setting up a few sample users. One only fixes, another only goes for discount, etc.