Is now a good time to switch?

ScoobySnacks79_2

I'm pondering new suppliers (was with GB energy, not very impressed, keep trying to increase SS even though I am significantly in credit and spoke to them a couple of weeks before and reduced the DD as they were taking far too much) and was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on whether now is a good time to switch?

My current deal expires early June. If I switch now, are the prices likely to go down between now and then? (unlikely I know, but have to consider these things).

I've found a tarrif that will work out only slightly more expensive than the current. Should I lock it in or risk waiting a couple of weeks?

Is it worth the extra cost for a fixed tarrif, or does the lower per unit cost of a variable make it worth the risk (guess it comes back to the "are prices headed up or down" again.)

Any insight gratefully received.

Does anyone know if the comparison sites do the job properly (i.e. they use the usage figures I give them, not some generic "average"? We are quite high users so the "average savings" stuff is total nonsense for us)

System

ScoobySnacks79 wrote: »

I'm pondering new suppliers (was with GB energy, not very impressed, keep trying to increase SS even though I am significantly in credit and spoke to them a couple of weeks before and reduced the DD as they were taking far too much) and was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on whether now is a good time to switch?

My current deal expires early June. If I switch now, are the prices likely to go down between now and then? (unlikely I know, but have to consider these things).

I've found a tarrif that will work out only slightly more expensive than the current. Should I lock it in or risk waiting a couple of weeks?

Is it worth the extra cost for a fixed tarrif, or does the lower per unit cost of a variable make it worth the risk (guess it comes back to the "are prices headed up or down" again.)

Any insight gratefully received.

Does anyone know if the comparison sites do the job properly (i.e. they use the usage figures I give them, not some generic "average"? We are quite high users so the "average savings" stuff is total nonsense for us)

If you put in projected annual usage in kWhs/year into a PCW, the monthly cost is accurate provided you actually use the projected usage. That said, ignore all savings if you are on a fixed tariff with less than 12 months to run. FWiW, I also enter the PCW figures into a simple spreadsheet and I have never found an error.

OK, the £64K question. I have just switched my gas supply 5 months early because I have already used 70% of my annual gas consumption. The additional cost for the next 5 months is less than a £1 a month, and I now have a fixed tariff covering next Winter. Electricity isn't quite so simple as my Winter/Summer ratio is 60/40%. Given that electricity costs have risen by double digits over the past 6 months, I am probably better staying with my present supplier.

That said, the great unknown is what Govt policy will do to Fixed Tariffs? If a cap is put on SVTs, then, in my view, the gap between fixed and variable tariffs will close so that suppliers can protect them profit margins. There is also the possibility that some suppliers will increase their SVTs ahead of a cap.

I am giving this more thought over the next 6 weeks and 2 days.

As for wholesale prices, traders make and lose £Ms trying to guess market movements. It is worth pointing out though the the wholesale price of gas accounts for only 39p of every £ that we pay. So if the wholesale price of gas increased by 100%, the actual bill increase should be no more than 20%. Similarly, the wholesale price of electricity accounts for 32p in every £.

Raxiel

If you did want to use a spreadsheet like Hengus suggests, I've made a blank copy of the one I created available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LsLIrx-lkdJ0FOrg3tSn2RB6a8k9_WUKYfXFExVWjIA/pub?output=xlsx