Moving one fuel away from dual fuel supplier

MrChips

Hi - I currently have both gas and electricity supplied by People's Energy and am on a dual fuel fixed tariff until 2 January 2021.
I understand I can move away within 50 days of the end of the fixed tariff without penalty - by my reckoning I am now 66 days away, so allowing for the 14 day cooling off period when moving suppliers, I can pretty much start looking for alternative suppliers now.  Based on comparison sites, my current electricity tariff can be beaten by another supplier by c£50 per year, while my existing gas tariff is the cheapest available.  As such I'm considering applying now to move the electricity, but leaving the gas alone until much closer to 2 January 2021 when the price will increase.  However, looking at People's Energy's website, they seem to only offer customers the option of dual fuel (i.e. both gas and electricity) or electricity only - not gas only.  So my questions is what will happen when I apply to move the electricity supplier leaving them supplying me only with gas.  Will this work??

Neil_Jones

not withstanding the fact People's Energy isn't particularly cheap at the best of times, the worse that can happen is you lose and dual-fuel discount and you end up on a standard tariff, or they will ask you to switch away to somebody else for your gas.  "If we end your Contract under clause 4.5.5 ("We give you 28 days’ notice of our intention to terminate your Contract"), we will continue to supply and bill you for your Energy usage until a new supplier(s) becomes the registered supplier of Energy to the Property."

MrChips

Thank you Neil.
Slightly surprised about your comment that People's Energy aren't generally the cheapest as they came out on top for me a year ago and are still best for gas (according to MSE anyway!) on my current tariff.  2.173p per kWh and 22.26p per day standing charge is what I'm paying at the moment (incl VAT).  I reckon to use about 26,000 kWh of gas per year.

Neil_Jones

Its all about timing the market.  If you jumped on a deal in the summer when prices were falling, anything you look at today will be expensive compared to then.  Prices have risen a lot since then and your current tariff is cheap at the moment, but of course it will no longer be available to new people.  But if you are wanting to stay with People, since they don't do gas only according to the website , you may not be able to keep it anyway.

Also note MSE Cheap Energy Club isn't the only comparison website in town.

Talldave

Since you have to look at the total cost, you might be better off staying put until January, as your high gas consumption puts more weighting on the gas and losing your good gas price will cost more than the electricity savings.

That said, by January, it's anyone's guess what the best gas price will be and you might regret not having bagged a fixed rate back in October for the loss of 2 months' cheaper gas.  At the moment, separate suppliers seem cheapest for anyone starting afresh today.