British Gas Major Price Rise Special Email Discussion

Jeddy

Is there ever a right time to switch?! I'd been waiting for things to quieten down after the last round of price rises which last Sunday I decided they had, so I started the change for both my gas and electric (both eDF) to Gas ebico and leccy BGas. As we know, on Monday eDF increased their prices (ok, I was sniggering at being one ahead) and then today - doh - BGas increased theirs.
Maybe once all the rises have gone through these will still be the cheapest for me - maybe not. I suspect by the time I'm happy all these latest rises have gone through and it's taken another 4 - 6 weeks to change again there will be more price rises to come.

I guess I'm more worried about my electric than my gas - I seem to be at odds with the average UK household in that my leccy bill is about double that of my gas. (Why can't you get energy efficient light bulbs that work with dimmers which I have installed through most of my house to try to save energy? I like the flexibility of dimmers to give the amount of light for my mood - currently quite low.)

raddy59

So,
1. prices are going through the roof.
2. We have power cuts in Central London.

Doesn't this remind anyone of what happened in California a couple of years back when it was found that supply companies (or a particular supply company - can't remember which) were deliberately restricting power supplies from a neighbouring state to force up prices. The only difference is that over there they investigated it and did something about it. Over here we are like sitting ducks, the free market mantra a cloak for the government's inaction.
Come on Martin, use your influence and see what you can dig up, and do something REALLY BIG about this!

IvanOpinion

The announcements by British Gas, EDF and ScottishPower came as no surprise (I am just surprised they took so long to materialise). Currently gas is being sold at a loss in the UK and, from what I can gather, this latest price rise barely reaches a 'break even' point. Some of the utility companies would (apparently) quite happily dump their gas customers in favour of electricity ... at the minute I am led to believe that in certain areas electricity is being used to subsidise gas prices (hence the discounts for 'dual fuel').

Anybody thinking that this is the end of the price rises is probably wrong. I have seen at least one report talking about a continual rise in gas prices until 2010 (I think?).

One way to save money is to shop around but the biggest savings can be achieved by REDUCE-ing the amount of gas consumed. That not only saves money but also helps the planet.

ivan

Wig

jem16 wrote:

I'm with London Energy Online. Even with the recently announced price rise I am still cheaper than Ebico by about £130pa. Plus Ebico may well put up their price in September as they usually do.

How can you say that they are by far the cheapest supplier around?

I don't think there is one "cheapest for all" solution, It depends on you area and consumption.

The user was wrong to say Ebico electricity is by far the cheapest, but the Ebico Gas is definately by far the cheapest.

What people should look at is Ebico for gas and then find the cheapest leccy company and see if that combination then beats what they are currently paying.

By buying Ebico you are also buying into the concept of "one price for all" which is a fairer way to charge, so even if they are more expensive by a small amount each year it is more socially ethical to buy from Ebico. In other words you can feel good about your energy supplier.

And Martin should use these big email announcements to recommend the comparison services which include Ebico in an easy to find format within their searches. Some include Ebico but only if you know which "special searches"
to include. Martin should chastise the poor performing switch sites and link to the one or 2 which give Ebico in the standard "Search all tarrifs" search.

johnydeath

Someone muted this before but sorry, I can't understand why you should not switch to the best capped rate now, as this is very likely to be less than the next price rise on standard accounts.

Or am I missing the point?

glasses_2

Don't listen to anyone saying 'switch supplier now!'

Oh MSE Martin, make up your mind - switch last week, don't switch this week. What's next week's advice? Which way is the wind blowing? Is this a game of "Simon says"?!

Seriously though, can anyone explain to me if constant switching is a waste of this planet's resources, through all the time, paper work and money spent switching?

jem16

Wig wrote:

The user was wrong to say Ebico electricity is by far the cheapest, but the Ebico Gas is definately by far the cheapest.

If I looked at gas alone it would be cheaper for me by £38pa but Ebico will put up its price in September so I would probably lose that saving.

costconcious1

Do any of the comparison sites cater for those of us that are fed by an "Independant Gas Transporter" (IGT)?

My current providor charges an additional levy because my home is not fed by a Transco pipeline

markoccomore

I'am with Seeboard which is now called EDF Energy If I'am correct, they told me when I spoke to them the other day that they have increased their prices once this year. The only problem if you change supplier I find is that you have to clear the debts off and that can put a burden on people who are already struggling paying bills. At the end of the day it's ok increasing prices, but I dont want to see their share holders and the top brass getting big wage packets whilst the consumer is struggling to pay. I also heard the boss of the BG saying that they may put prices down when it's balanced out. No they will put there prices down once they have broken even and screwed the customer. These big companys are great helping out the consumer


Lets give BG a big :T :rolleyes:

al_yrpal

Since early 2004 I have been with Powergen on a fixed price deal for my 4 bed detached house, paying £51 a month for dual fuel - gas and electricity (£612 pa). In the winter the heating is on from 7.30am to 10.30pm. My deal runs out on the 31st July. On checking, my annual bill will rise to £920pa on current rates (Powergen is still one of the cheapest). This fixed price deal has saved me an enormous amount of money. I have been checking Uswitch etc, but over the last month I got a different recommendation almost every time I checked.

So, as Powergen have made only one price rise this year, I have opted for their fixed price deal extending 4 winters to March 2010. This is estimated at £1100 pa ie £92 per month which is £41 a month more than I have been paying for the last two years.

I ignored Martin's advice because Powergen have only raised prices once this year and have not yet responded to British Gas's price rise. I expect prices to rise significantly over the next four years. I may be paying more at the moment but I expect this deal to save me a lot of money over that period.