Handling out of control bills

wine-ed

I've posted previously as I lost my fixed rate in Nov 2021 and have watched my monthly electricity bill rocket (I'm on oil which has risen but nothing like electricity) - the press give figures but what I am seeing is far higher than what they are stating. I've paid around £50/month for elec for years, but for the last 2 moths this has leapt to over £70, this is the change in unit/standing charges not my useage - I am using less now as I am now ultra vilgilant. When I check for fixed deals with current prov. Eon Next and outwith the least I am quoted is £119/month!! - more than double what I was paying pre Nov 2021. This is going up by the day almost so I have no idea what it will be by the next price cap. Martin is right to stick to price cap now but how do they get away with quoting these fixed rates now?

Verdigris

If you submit regular meter readings, at least monthly, you'll get more accurate payment estimates. DD amounts are meaningless, in isolation.

MWT

wine-ed said:

Martin is right to stick to price cap now but how do they get away with quoting these fixed rates now?

The Ofgem price cap is preventing the suppliers from charging enough to cover their costs on the standard variable tariff, but the cap does not limit the fixed price tariffs, so what you see there is the reality of the current energy market.

wine-ed

MWT said:

wine-ed said:

Martin is right to stick to price cap now but how do they get away with quoting these fixed rates now?

The Ofgem price cap is preventing the suppliers from charging enough to cover their costs on the standard variable tariff, but the cap does not limit the fixed price tariffs, so what you see there is the reality of the current energy market.

You're spot on, but what I am struggling to understand is - if I was paying just under £50/month pre-Nov 21, and we're being told energy bills will rise by 50% after the cap is raised in Feb 22 then how can my quoted fixed rate have gone from under £50 to £119 (my supplier was actually more than that nearer £130, nearly 3x more) while we still have current cap, how much will it rise again after cap rises? Is the media getting this horribly wrong as 50% is nowhere near.

Verdigris

The 50% is the change in SVT, not the change from the discounted price you were paying before.

MWT

wine-ed said:

You're spot on, but what I am struggling to understand is - if I was paying just under £50/month pre-Nov 21, and we're being told energy bills will rise by 50% after the cap is raised in Feb 22 then how can my quoted fixed rate have gone from under £50 to £119 (my supplier was actually more than that nearer £130, nearly 3x more) while we still have current cap, how much will it rise again after cap rises? Is the media getting this horribly wrong as 50% is nowhere near.

Fixed rates have to take into account what they believe the future cost of supplying your estimated consumption for the fixed period will be... That can be driven by a mixture of the current costs to hedge that estimated consumption, and best guesses on how that price will move.

The cap on the other-hand is driven by recent past prices so if the calculation method remains unchanged then we already know where the cap is likely to end up.

Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say...

Flight3287462

OP stop thinking about the money aspect.  You need to concentrate on the usage (KWh) aspect.  Set up a spreadsheet and start calculating how much you actually use.

You can then compare that to previous years usage then with your rate you can figure out the real costs. 

I know we use between 9,500-10,000KWh hours a year (GSHP no gas) so all I need is the pence per KWh and the daily standing charge.

markin

wine-ed said:

MWT said:

wine-ed said:

Martin is right to stick to price cap now but how do they get away with quoting these fixed rates now?

The Ofgem price cap is preventing the suppliers from charging enough to cover their costs on the standard variable tariff, but the cap does not limit the fixed price tariffs, so what you see there is the reality of the current energy market.

You're spot on, but what I am struggling to understand is - if I was paying just under £50/month pre-Nov 21, and we're being told energy bills will rise by 50% after the cap is raised in Feb 22 then how can my quoted fixed rate have gone from under £50 to £119 (my supplier was actually more than that nearer £130, nearly 3x more) while we still have current cap, how much will it rise again after cap rises? Is the media getting this horribly wrong as 50% is nowhere near.

Fixed deals aren't capped, its a private contract, some are offering fixes at 4K a year, They could offer you a deal at 10K, Would you take it?