The cap

Wills100

I'm with Octopus on variable tariff, rates still seem lower than many others according to my research. I now realise that the price cap, currently £1277, only applies to variable tariffs (SVT), I know that will rise in April. I just looked at E.ON for a quote (for a friend) I was amazed to find what their website recommends to me as their cheapest tariff today, £2,538pa, see below. This must be how far they think they can increase prices when they don't  have to worry about the cap. Their variable tariff is cheaper than below, but still more than Octopus. E.ON standing charges are higher too. This tariff is devoid of 'feel-good feeling' for me! 

brianfenland

Thanks for helpful comments. I read somewhere that in the last few years the levy on electricity cost had moved from 7% to 23/25%. This it seems was to push us as consumers to reduce our consumption. Government idea to hit us in our pockets where we could feel the pain most. It was discussed I understand to ramp up the gas levy to give the same effect. Then we hit the current storm of price increases, so the levy idea was shelved, delayed, postponed til who knows when. Given where we all are now and with no strategic plan for energy supplies for the future good luck in keeping warm. Still when we have all given up our polluting gas boilers and installed an alternative type of “modern” heat  supply, no doubt we will all thank our leaders for saving the world. Sorry just feel a little angry today and yesterday and probably tomorrow. So back to my energy cost forecasting for 2022.

wittynamegoeshere

I wonder what will happen to fixed tariffs if VAT or other charges are reduced?  The energy companies could argue that the published fixed price was all-in, so they won't reduce it for customers already under contract.

Really like the "double the feel-good feeling" thing above.  They forgot to say "double the price" and that the "feelgood" feeling is entirely theirs, not yours.

MWT

wittynamegoeshere said:

I wonder what will happen to fixed tariffs if VAT or other charges are reduced?  The energy companies could argue that the published fixed price was all-in, so they won't reduce it for customers already under contract.

Very unlikely, they are obliged to show the inc. VAT rate to domestic customers, but if you look at any bill you will see the VAT calculation on there, so if the VAT rate drops then the total on the bill will necessarily drop as well.

Ant555

Wills100 said:

I'm with Octopus on variable tariff, rates still seem lower than many others according to my research. I now realise that the price cap, currently £1277, only applies to variable tariffs (SVT), I know that will rise in April. I just looked at E.ON for a quote (for a friend) I was amazed to find what their website recommends to me as their cheapest tariff today, £2,538pa, see below. This must be how far they think they can increase prices when they don't  have to worry about the cap. Their variable tariff is cheaper than below, but still more than Octopus. E.ON standing charges are higher too. This tariff is devoid of 'feel-good feeling' for me! 

Dont forget that the quoted cap headline figure of £1277 doesn't really mean much when your friend is looking for a comparison unless they are bang on the average users of energy.  The cap doesnt mean that people on the SVT cant pay more than £1277 - many pay much more.

Your friend has been quoted a fix of £211/month to cover 2 winters use, presumably based on actual usage figures -  Are they currently on a fix coming to an end? - if so then a complete guess is that they are currently paying around £110/month and if they move to the SVT in Feb, that figure will immediately go up (140?), it will most likely go up again in April (175?) and possibly again in October 22.

Im not saying go for it but you can see why that £211/month for 24 months with no exit fees starts to look attractive if you can afford it, if you want some certainty and if you have a pessimistic view of the world energy markets.

I do admit that the company must think they can make a profit on that figure over 24 months though.

wakeupalarm

The percentage figures just come from an easy explanation view in articles, they are not fixed percentages. 

How much do green taxes add to bills?

In 2015, green levies accounted for just 7 per cent of an average dual fuel bill (£86 out of £1,165), according to Ofgem. By 2020 that proportion had doubled to 15 per cent (£182 out of £1,189).

Latest figures from energy watchdog Ofgem show that 25.48 per cent of electricity bills in August 2021 went on ‘environmental and social obligation costs’. On gas bills it was just 2.46 per cent. The average household’s dual fuel bill stood at £1,184 in 2020, according to Ofgem, with £182 going on green taxes.

PennineAcute

Wills100 said:

I'm with Octopus on variable tariff, rates still seem lower than many others according to my research. I now realise that the price cap, currently £1277, only applies to variable tariffs (SVT), I know that will rise in April. I just looked at E.ON for a quote (for a friend) I was amazed to find what their website recommends to me as their cheapest tariff today, £2,538pa, see below. This must be how far they think they can increase prices when they don't  have to worry about the cap. Their variable tariff is cheaper than below, but still more than Octopus. E.ON standing charges are higher too. This tariff is devoid of 'feel-good feeling' for me! 

That is a new tariff today.  Their V15 tariff was even more.