Have the top fixes been nerfed yet?

tahrey

Right, so coming here to check the reputability of various car insurers (and so glad I did - ended up renewing with Direct Line for just as much I would have with the eminently dodgy Octagon, but with a better policy and company), saw the sidebar and was reminded I need to refresh my Gas + Electric tariff...

And, oh no, the warning - from almost a week ago now! - that the then-current decent fixed rate deals were rumoured to be pulled "imminently" and maybe be replaced with worse ones.

I immediately went to look at the EDF Blue offerings (I'm currently with them as they gave the best deal last time I fixed) and... it doesn't actually look very good. My last fix was at somewhere around 12 to 13p per unit for electricity and in the low 4p range for gas (I haven't got out of the chair since starting this so I don't have the old details, or bills with annual use on to hand). But both the standard variable rate and shorter term fix (~18 months) look to be about the same as this, with the fix slightly higher. The long term one (3 years) is a whopping 15p per unit for electric and almost 5p per unit for gas!

If prices are supposedly to rise by 10%, this still doesn't cover that hike.

So, does anyone happen to have a copy of what the prices were this time last week (particularly for the midlands, but if you happened to find and save the PDF of prices per tariff and region that they at least used to provide that would be just as awesome), so we can see if this is indeed the same deal...

...and if it is, does that mean the general thinking re long range energy price trends is that by the time 2017 hoves into view, 15p per unit will seem relatively cheap, enough that the 3-year fix will average out to be a good deal overall despite being rubbish now?! (IE by the time we're in mid 2015, 12.5p will seem desperately cheap...)

EDF already take me for a mighty pretty penny - running a 1970s flat as a singleton is a surprisingly expensive business in terms of energy, even though I have relatively little on standby and don't use much lighting or the domestic white goods (washer and dishwasher no more than once a week, shower less than 5 minutes a day, cooking is usually a matter of making a batch of something on the small hob and reheating it in the microwave for another couple days...), a desktop PC, games console or huge TV (just a laptop and a modest 32" with a low-end SmartTV box)... In summer the fridge has to work bloody hard because the place is like an oven even with windows open, sunny-side blinds drawn and a pedestal fan running, and in winter the gas (hot air) heating can barely cope with keeping the core rooms up to about 20'C at full chat, with a fan heater needed in the guest room/study and bathroom and electric blanket in the main bed...

(So I'd rather they not take me for a penny more than is absolutely necessary! Reminds me, I really should work out what the -correct- DD payment should be for it at the same time, unless I switch to NPower and find they're a little more intelligent when it comes to doing the necessary Sinclair Spectrum level calculations. Thus far, EDF have proven useless at it, even when I've tried to nudge things in the right direction...)

Cheers like!

(NB. To "nerf" (VG): To reduce the effectiveness of some item, e.g. a weapon, spell or character class thought to be overpowered or excessively valuable given their low "cost" in terms of gold or points, in order to level off the playing field. Often used to describe an overly aggressive or heavy-handed example of the general practice, that makes the imbalance even worse in the other direction and leads to further accusations of unfairness).

sveedy

I'm going through this process at the moment too. on sept 13 fix and chewing over whether to go for the shorter term fix or the longer term one. the elec prices on the longer term one are what is causing me consternation, they do seem a big hike from current levels.

12p ish to 15p ish for each elec unit is a big rise, even over the longer fix period

as far as gas prices go, i think prices will rise before the fracking gas comes on line. once this happens I am hopeful gas prices will drop (but then again, this is the UK where the customer is normally screwed over so perhaps price drops will not occur).

at the moment i am more tempted by the shorter term fix but still have to come to a definite decision (will do a full compare with other providers in the next week or so).


nerf - there's a word i haven't heard since my days of playing eve online

JamesMason_2

I couldn't understand most of your post, but I would wait a while longer and watch to see if the market becomes more attractive before Winter. It usually does.

tahrey

That's pretty much the polar opposite of every other bit of advice given re: energy prices and deals given on the main site itself, James?

Sveedy, I suppose that boils down to "18 month one may be worth it, 3 year one probably not"? I think that was also the case when I signed up for my previous deal that recently ended.

I don't suppose anyone actually knows if the deals I looked at were pre- or post-"nerfing", then? It really would be nice to know, given the dire warnings in what is now last week's newsletter, and the silence in the current one.

tahrey

Oh and for the benefit of the easily confused (like JM ), here's my original post in refactored form:

Came on MSE for some other reason, during which I realised I needed to find myself a new energy provision deal.

What was then the most recent newsletter (5-6 days old) warned that the current offerings were going to be pulled "very soon". Panic station.

Looked at the EDF offers, as that's who I'm already with and they gave the best deal last time. Short term fix is at about the same rate as current, but the longer term one is significantly higher (as in about +20 to 25% per unit).

But, the only warnings I've seen so far concern a potential 10% hike later this year (IE "towards winter").

So, do they know something we don't about how prices might spike in about 2 years' time, or are they just looking to profit from paranoia?

And, have the deal prices already gone up (say, from a low-ish 18-month and high-ish 3-year, to a medium 18m and very high 3y), or is this what it was like all along?

I'm already paying a stupid amount for my electricity and gas due to living in a poorly insulated 1970s flat (which, for now, I can do little about), so it gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter, even though I try to keep my discretionary consumption to a minimum. I could do without paying 15p for electricity and 5p for gas ON TOP OF the standing charge. Even if that 15/5p rate doesn't kick in until early 2015.

No great love for EDF all told, as their billing system is hopeless, but switching is a pain and NPower might be no better. Just would like the information (e.g. maybe one has changed but the other hasn't?) to make a decent choice.

JamesMason_2

Yes prices do go up in Winter, but many attractive tariffs appear late Summer come early Autumn, presumably to build customer numbers.

tahrey

OK, fair enough, but has the cancellation and upswing warned of in the newsletter happened yet? So I know whether to spend time comparing EDF against NPower (etc) today, in between packing for the week's foreign holiday I go on very early tomorrow morning?

Anybody?

Bueller?