Newbie to Elec Bills

Legacy_user

Ok, so I have got the urge to save my Mum some money. She pays the electricity and pays £740 a year. Just been on mysupermarket and I have a few quotes for £500-650.

The cheapest is NPower Go-Fix 5 and it says Fixed until 31/5/2012. What happens on 1/6/2012? Does this mean the price changes? I expect a higher price because all companies are out to make money so is this a big risk?

KimYeovil

If the price seems reasonable now for the predicted typical useage then that is a very good choice - it is a fixed price tariff so will not change until 1 June 2012. Npower have twelve month discounts that are only paid after twelve months so this would be a good time to switch to that tariff as the two events would be close together.

macman

However you will be paying a substantial premium to fix for 12m-essentially you are paying for peace of mind.

KimYeovil

Macman - not necessarily - for some reason the Npower Fix 5 does not have a significant (or any) premium (will depend on region and fuel mix and consumption, of course.)

Edit: in fact a few days ago I was about to compose a post lambasting Npower for deceptively naming the tariff - I assumed it was a variable tariff with a misleading name.

Premier_2

If the nPower Go Fix is the cheapest tariff, then it is definitely worth considering.

The risk is that the price is fixed until the expiry date, and so in the event prices tumble generally they Go Fix customers won't get any reduction (However prices falling over the next 12-15 months seems unlikley right now ... but don't pick me up on this in 12 months should they actually fall!)

Whilst you could always switch if prices did unexpectantly fall, you need to be aware of any earl;y exit fees and importnatly as Kim points out, the fact that nPower discoumts are paid only after 12 months so if you leave early, you will lose those ... which could make the tariff seem less appealing.

When the deal ends 31 May 2012, the deal ends and you will be informed of new prices. You have the choice to change tariff then, but a change of supplier too may be even better - you'll need to check the comparison sites at that time to discover the best deal.