Energy prices

Turner1966

My fixed rate energy deal finishes at the beginning of March with So energy. I currently pay £160 a month for dual fuel. I’ve been advised by so energy to sign up for their two year fixed rate and they’ve quoted me £320 pcm. That is more than a third of my wage. Am I better off going on their variable rate? I cannot afford £320 per month so is there a good chance the variable rate will be less? I’d really appreciate some advice I could cry at the thought of these bills.
thank you

emmajones1976

Nobody can answer unless you post the unit rate of what you have been offered.

bristolleedsfan

Do not take out a new fixed rate with So Energy at present time, very expensive + £40 exit fees per fuel on  2 year fixed rate.

Do nothing and default to variable rate

Astria

Variable rate is more certainly going to be cheaper at the moment, but could easily be more than some fixed rates come April so you need to think about how much energy you are going to consume and plan accordingly. Since we don't have your annual consumption nor unit rates we can't advise on this.

Turner1966

emmajones1976 said:

Nobody can answer unless you post the unit rate of what you have been offered.

Unit rate - electricity	32.83p per kWh
Standing charge - electricity	26.81p per day
Unit rate - gas	8.70p per kWh
Standing charge - gas	26.11p per day
Start date	9 Mar 2022
End date	8 Mar 2024
Early exit fees	£40 per fuel

This is the two year fixed rate they are advising is the best option 

wild666

Turner1966 said:

My fixed rate energy deal finishes at the beginning of March with So energy. I currently pay £160 a month for dual fuel. I’ve been advised by so energy to sign up for their two year fixed rate and they’ve quoted me £320 pcm. That is more than a third of my wage. Am I better off going on their variable rate? I cannot afford £320 per month so is there a good chance the variable rate will be less? I’d really appreciate some advice I could cry at the thought of these bills.
thank you

The Standard variable rate you mention will only be in force a few weeks before there is a large increase in the rates in April. 
Think about how you can reduce energy usage, both electric and gas, turning down the temperature on a combi boiler to 50 degrees for hot water and 55 degrees for heating would be a start. Then think about appliances left on standby mode that you don't use often even the cooker and microwave are just clocks when not used, turn them off at the wall socket, smart speakers, TV;s DVD players, surround sound systems, stereo's, shower, extractor fans, charging leads all those use power left in standby mode. For me it's 600 kWh's per year I will save just turning them off at the wall socket. 

QrizB

Turner1966 said:

emmajones1976 said:

Nobody can answer unless you post the unit rate of what you have been offered.

Unit rate - electricity	32.83p per kWh
Standing charge - electricity	26.81p per day
Unit rate - gas	8.70p per kWh
Standing charge - gas	26.11p per day
Start date	9 Mar 2022
End date	8 Mar 2024
Early exit fees	£40 per fuel

This is the two year fixed rate they are advising is the best option 

That two-year fix is at the upper end of my current estimate for the April cap (that is, April's cap is likely to be a little lower than the fix). Considering the exit fees I'd be inclined to stick with the variable tariff.

But you should realise that from April you're likely to be paying something like that, even if it is a few pounds a month less.

How much gas and electricity do you use a year, in kWh? If you don't know, there should be an estimate on your bills. Even at that tariff, £320/month is quite a lot more than average (Ofgem's average consumer would be paying £185/yr).

Astria

wild666 said:

Turner1966 said:

My fixed rate energy deal finishes at the beginning of March with So energy. I currently pay £160 a month for dual fuel. I’ve been advised by so energy to sign up for their two year fixed rate and they’ve quoted me £320 pcm. That is more than a third of my wage. Am I better off going on their variable rate? I cannot afford £320 per month so is there a good chance the variable rate will be less? I’d really appreciate some advice I could cry at the thought of these bills.
thank you

The Standard variable rate you mention will only be in force a few weeks before there is a large increase in the rates in April. 
Think about how you can reduce energy usage, both electric and gas, turning down the temperature on a combi boiler to 50 degrees for hot water and 55 degrees for heating would be a start. Then think about appliances left on standby mode that you don't use often even the cooker and microwave are just clocks when not used, turn them off at the wall socket, smart speakers, TV;s DVD players, surround sound systems, stereo's, shower, extractor fans, charging leads all those use power left in standby mode. For me it's 600 kWh's per year I will save just turning them off at the wall socket. 

Although to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria you should set it to at least 65c at least once a week. Remember also that a lower temperature will mean it takes longer for the house to heat so the pump/etc will be on longer as a result.

Turner1966

QrizB said:

Turner1966 said:

emmajones1976 said:

Nobody can answer unless you post the unit rate of what you have been offered.

Unit rate - electricity	32.83p per kWh
Standing charge - electricity	26.81p per day
Unit rate - gas	8.70p per kWh
Standing charge - gas	26.11p per day
Start date	9 Mar 2022
End date	8 Mar 2024
Early exit fees	£40 per fuel

This is the two year fixed rate they are advising is the best option 

That two-year fix is at the upper end of my current estimate for the April cap (that is, April's cap is likely to be a little lower than the fix). Considering the exit fees I'd be inclined to stick with the variable tariff.

But you should realise that from April you're likely to be paying something like that, even if it is a few pounds a month less.

How much gas and electricity do you use a year, in kWh? If you don't know, there should be an estimate on your bills. Even at that tariff, £320/month is quite a lot more than average (Ofgem's average consumer would be paying £185/yr).

This estimation is based on your energy usage between 

2021-03-09 and 2022-03-09
Electricity: 4515.80 kWh
Gas: 24873.00 kWh.

Verdigris

Plenty of scope for reducing your consumption as that is about double the national average.

Flight3287462

I don't think those prices are too bad.  The other thing to remember is the variable rate will be reset again in October when the prices will go up again (unless the government intervenes).

OP how long is your offer open for, if you can postpone do a bit do some research and see what others are charging.

This is such a Catch 22 situation, damned if you and damned if you don't.

I fixed with Sainsburys Energy for two years at £2k/year start of October it would now cost me £3,850  (Electric only 27p/unit and 41p/day standing charge).  I expected things to calm down come the Spring now I'm not so sure, one thing is we won't be going back to the levels we were at in 2020.