50/50 decision on switching

tomp2494

I pay £60 a month DD at the moment
This will increase by 54% on the standard rate to £92.40.
If rates go up by at least 20% in October, I will then pay £110.88 a month. (A dusgusting sum of money for a 1 bed flat!) 
I am being offered a DD of £105.89 a month fixed for 12 months, with the following rates:
 Electricity

Daily standing charge	24.03p /day
Unit rate	36.76p /kWh
Early exit fee	£0

Gas

Daily standing charge	26.10p /day
Unit rate	9.68p /kWh
Early exit fee	£0

My current tarriff is the Flexible Avro with Octopus 

Unit rates

Electricity: 21.37p per kWh

Gas: 4.01p per kWh

Standing charges

Electricity: 24.03p per day

Gas: 26.11p per day

I am kind of torn between staying on the standard and switching! 

GingerTim

You need to take those rates and your actual usage to work out what you will actually pay each year, the direct debit offers are not the real point of comparison.

tomp2494

I don't know how much I will use.....this is the first full (normal) year of having my own place.....last years figures are skewed by so much time being spent at home through lock downs! 

Janie2008

I wouldn't take the fix. The unit rates are pretty high.

QrizB

Octopus doesn't have any great (or even good) fixed rate offerings on general sale at the moment.

You are likely to be better off sticking with the variable rate.

(One exception is if you own an electric vehicle, in which case Go and Go Faster are competitive fixed rates.)

littlemissbossy

I am in the same boat as you and have decided to stick with the price cap.

EssexHebridean

tomp2494 said:

I don't know how much I will use.....this is the first full (normal) year of having my own place.....last years figures are skewed by so much time being spent at home through lock downs! 

Last winter will also be skewed by it being a cold one - but then again this winter so far has been mild so that probably balances. I'd be inclined to look at the amount you used last summer, as that will change relatively little, and then this year  but allow an extra amount for use in a "normal" colder winter - and then try to work out from the two figures what your rough average might be. It is a bit "finger in the air" but then it all is at the moment as we really have NO idea what's going to happen in October. 

Remember if you can bring your usage down at all - or indeed if it falls naturally - then you'll still get a benefit even from within the fix, too.

*edit to add* Also - you need to compare with the Octpus tariff as it will be from 1st April, NOT what it is now! 

wild666

I know some disagree with me but look at turning off every appliance that's not in use except the fridge, freezer and router. I fill a flask with tea to drink throughout the day and only turn the cooker on when I need food cooking. I started doing this after Avro went under but before that my yearly usage was around 2400 kWh for electric and 3500 kWh for gas I now use a hot water bottle most days plus I've turned the temperature on the boiler down to 50 degrees for water and 55 for heating, that's when I have the heating on, infrequently. My gas usage will, I assume, drop to just over 1000 kWh in the next 12 months, and the electric to around 1300 kWh.

I saved 400 kWh of electric since September 23rd to December 31st and 700 kWh of gas in the same period.  

[Deleted User]

wild666 said:

I know some disagree with me but look at turning off every appliance that's not in use except the fridge, freezer and router. I fill a flask with tea to drink throughout the day and only turn the cooker on when I need food cooking.

I assume you mean you turn the cooker on at the wall.