Calculating energy costs in April

StarTrekkie007

Hello,

With the announcement of an approx 54% increase in energy costs. I was wondering if the current assumption of calculating costs is correct.

I am currently on a variable rate tariff for combined gas & electricity. (Assume this is a top limit Goverment price cap)

To make maths easier, lets say my monthly cost for gas & electricity is £100

In April when the new price cap goes into effect, the new variable rate tariff will be approx £154

So if I am looking to see if any fixed tariffs are worth taking, do I check if value of monthly fee is £154 or less ?

PennineAcute

Yes and no.   Yes, if your £100 a month is the correct monthly price and 12 times this amount gives you the exactly annual figure that your companies charges you.

It is always best to do the maths yourself.  Some companies may give you a monthly figure which is set to look more appealing rather than what is realistic.  Do the maths and you will always know.  Rely upon companies do it for you can lead to massive problems later down the line.

Neil_Jones

Your direct debit is not your bill.

Fixed tariffs are almost certainly guaranteed (this side of April) to be at least half as much again as they are on the capped default tariff.

StarTrekkie007

Overall, given the news of the April price rises, are there any "fixed" tariffs that are worth joining or is it still better to be on the variable tariff (at the Goverment price cap) ?

Also are there any Energy price calculators that you would recommend (Gas & Electricity) so I could do a more accurate comparrison for the costs involved

QrizB

StarTrekkie007 said:

Overall, given the news of the April price rises, are there any "fixed" tariffs that are worth joining or is it still better to be on the variable tariff (at the Goverment price cap) ?

Some (not all) of the tariffs in this thread are cheaper than the April price cap. You'll have to check for yourself whether they are still available and whether they are cheaper for you.

SparklyStar

I have just received my April, price rise notification.
they are DOUBLING my standing charge for electricity.
yes, the price for units of electricity is going up BUT regardless of any reduction in electric use I can muster, I cannot reduce the impact of a doubling of the standing charge.

The standing charge is a fixed fee and I cannot do anything about it…
so before I even use any units, I have a baseline monthly bill which has doubled.

Ouch…. And they say it is going to get higher in October 2022. 

double_dutchy

Although it's true that the standing charge has gone up by more (as a percentage) the actual monetary value is much less significant.

For example, I live in the Eastern region and use approx 5500 kwh of electricity per year. On a variable rate set at the level of the price cap my standing charge for electricity will go up by £4.23 per month on April 1st while the cost for kwh used will go up by almost 10 times that, i.e. £42.03 per month. For most people (unless you are a very low user) it's the increase in the unit rate that will have a more significant impact.