Fixed or Variable rate energy?

gaffermatt

I've read in the weekly email about how energy rates are going up a lot in October, and having just moved into a new property I'm wondering if I should sign up for a fixed rate, because I'm assuming the variable will go up a lot in October? I'd have thought the MSE page on this would say this but it doesn't - am I missing something? Should I go for the fixed rate, even if it is slightly more expensive? 

Many thanks!

JJ_Egan

Rates are rising now don't mind October .

Variable you can cancel if price rises .

Fixed better on rising prices variable on falling prices .

Personally i fixed for two years last month .

Gerry1

It depends on how good your crystal ball is and your attitude towards risk.

There's normally not much point in issuing guidance because what suits one person may not suit another.

If it's considered especially likely that prices will rise then fixed deals may be attractive, but by the same token the premium they attract may also be higher.  Just like the stock market, the weather forecast or the 4:30 at Epsom, it's all still a gamble.

ahfat41

gaffermatt said:

I've read in the weekly email about how energy rates are going up a lot in October, and having just moved into a new property I'm wondering if I should sign up for a fixed rate, because I'm assuming the variable will go up a lot in October? I'd have thought the MSE page on this would say this but it doesn't - am I missing something? Should I go for the fixed rate, even if it is slightly more expensive? 

Many thanks!

I have just fixed with octopus 24 months tariffs for peace of mind.  It is slightly more expensive.

dogshome

You pays your money and takes your choice

Checked the NORDPOOL site yesterday and on 20th of June 2020 the averaged price per Megawatt was £29,09 ( 3p a Kwh )

On 20th June 2021 it was £86.99 per Megawatt ( 8.6p a Kwh )

A straw in the wind?

I monitor the Leccy account for the widow of an old friend who built a 3 storey house for his retirement - All very Green with a Ground Source Heat pump being fed by over an acre of underground pipes, but it does produce an annual Leccy consumption of 14,500 Kwh.

The reasonable deal with EDF I found for her last year has just expired, and what is interesting is that the 3 tariffs they are offering to this established customer are all extended time Fixed Contracts - Two for 24 months and one for 36 months.

So the question is:  Why would EDF who are one of the most experienced suppliers in the market offer these contracts in a market that we are told is only going to get more expensive   

Inigo_Montoya

You can get out of a fix for around £30 per fuel so I'd probably go for a fix for piece of mind if the fix is fairly competitive pricewise