Did you take a fix deal?

mexicano54

pochase said:

As @Alnat1 is saying for your usage the increase is only 40.01%, but that is mainly due to the fact of lower standing charges.

Based on the average gas unit rate of 12.47p and electricity unit rate of 41.88p the monthly cost would be almost identical, and due to paying for up to 3 month the higher cost already you would be losing out.


Even increasing the SVT unit rates to 43.88p and 13p as London rates are much higher the monthly difference is only less than 5£ (£119.77pm), so you have 3 months of higher cost (£9 cheaper standing charges vs higher cost from unit rates) thereafter11 months  fixed rate vs new SVT(s). There should be a saving until April, but if we get the predicted drop there will be no further further saving against SVT after April, potentially even a a loss.

In total I cannot see you winning on this fix, but this is based on a lot of unknowns and possible changes.

Also the potential saving you can make are in regions that for me would not be worth gambling. 

Thanks @pochase. I'm really impressed with your spreadsheet and yes I agree that the possible difference between the SVT in October and the BG fixed offer isn't worth taking up and with the £100 exit fees it would be very difficult to move to anything cheaper that might come up.

I've got enough savings to keep up the payments and I'm using less gas and electricity now, so I'll hold my nerve and wait until after October.

Also thanks to @Alnat1

The_Groat_Counter

I took EDF's two year May24v3 fix back in early July - the one which was an average of 24% more than the current (summer 2022) price cap.

In the Southern region that tariff is:
Elec  34.77p per kWh,  SC 43.39p per day
Gas  9.851p per kWh,  SC 27.22p per day

Thanks to Martin's MSE newletter I had only woken up to the idea that taking a fix might once again be a sensible idea in this new energy climate, having previously reprogrammed myself to thinking that staying on the capped SVT would be best. And I wasn't at all sure at the time whether it was a good idea to get locked into two years of more expensive rates, with £150 per-fuel exit fees.

However I think that tariff was pulled within the week after I signed up, and looking at the possibility of a 65% average increase in the cap come October I think it's a gamble that might pay off. Of course it's basically crystal ball gazing when considering what energy prices will be like in the winter of 2023-24, but on the face of it I can't see things suddenly stabilising hugely by then (at least not geopolitically).

And it is at least unlikely that EDF Energy will go bust! (Unless the soon to be renationalised Électricité de France decides to somehow abandon its UK subsidiary...)

zzzt

I did fix but unfortunately moved house so lost it. I can't see any point in fixing now. The fix prices are all generally higher than predicted price rises in October, so it just means paying more now for no benefit.

spot1034

The_Groat_Counter said:

I took EDF's two year May24v3 fix back in early July - the one which was an average of 24% more than the current (summer 2022) price cap.

In the Southern region that tariff is:
Elec  34.77p per kWh,  SC 43.39p per day
Gas  9.851p per kWh,  SC 27.22p per day

Thanks to Martin's MSE newletter I had only woken up to the idea that taking a fix might once again be a sensible idea in this new energy climate, having previously reprogrammed myself to thinking that staying on the capped SVT would be best. And I wasn't at all sure at the time whether it was a good idea to get locked into two years of more expensive rates, with £150 per-fuel exit fees.

However I think that tariff was pulled within the week after I signed up, and looking at the possibility of a 65% average increase in the cap come October I think it's a gamble that might pay off. Of course it's basically crystal ball gazing when considering what energy prices will be like in the winter of 2023-24, but on the face of it I can't see things suddenly stabilising hugely by then (at least not geopolitically).

And it is at least unlikely that EDF Energy will go bust! (Unless the soon to be renationalised Électricité de France decides to somehow abandon its UK subsidiary...)

That would be another Bulb, with no chance of getting anyone else to take over the customers so effectively nationalised here as well!

I signed up to Eon Next Online v15 last weekend, having been watching forward pricing for the winter and next spring and realising that the autumn price cap was likely to be even more than was being predicted at that time. That deal has already been pulled and replaced by v16 which would have been another £150 for my usage, so it was a good move. Of-course I can't help thinking that if I'd acted a couple of weeks sooner I could have got the previous deal which would have been even better, but there's always the thought that you're paying more than necessary for longer in the period before October 1st. In the event, because my gas was with EDF I had to ask if they'd take that on as well as the electricity they already supply (I'm ex-Symbio and Zog) and they agreed to do so and not start the new tariff until they have the gas on board, so I've managed to get myself 20 more days on the SVT. Every little helps! 

There's also the thought that those who signed up earlier to a fix will end it earlier, and might - it's only a might - find themselves having to pay a much higher rate whilst those of us who weren't quite so quick off the mark will still have a bit of time to run before we face the same fate. There's a lot of swings and roundabouts in trying to work out what would have been the best thing to have done, and in the end it's all guesswork.

Mstty

zzzt said:

I did fix but unfortunately moved house so lost it. I can't see any point in fixing now. The fix prices are all generally higher than predicted price rises in October, so it just means paying more now for no benefit.

Have you done a quote from green energy. The fix is below the October price cap and there is an interesting tariff called tide that may save some households a bunch of cash too using energy when it is cheaper.

https://www.greenenergyuk.com/

Strangely it's not on the MSE worth it fix newsletter but then neither are the Octopus tariffs that can save people a bunch of cash

bristolleedsfan

zzzt said:

I did fix but unfortunately moved house so lost it. I can't see any point in fixing now. The fix prices are all generally higher than predicted price rises in October, so it just means paying more now for no benefit.

Both Octopus and British Gas allow tariffs to move between properties, widely assumed by forumites that it cannot be done.

https://octopus.energy/blog/moving-house-heres-what-you-need-know/

Coffeekup

Bhavv said:

I don't know whether I should take another fix or not.

I'm eligible for all the government payments that are coming soon other than age so it shouldn't matter, but I'm unsure whether to take another fix or leave it on SDV.

Similar situation to you, one of the biggest factors for me not signing up yet is the unsightly exit fee's.

Mstty

@Coffeekup @bhavv

Zero exit fees, 15% cheaper in my region for electricity than the expected cap coming October and 20% cheaper on the gas.

https://www.greenenergyuk.com/

Coffeekup

johnbhoy70 said:

I thought something big was happening.

I hummed and hawed a bit and actually missed out on the previous version of this deal but eventually bit the bullet. Even after accepting it i was in 2 minds for the first few days cancelling during the cooling off. My last Avro D/D was about £95 and Sainsburys were after about £122 and that's a fair increase. Bear in mind that was prior to last October's cap and i don't need to tell anyone what's happened since then. 

My AVRO deal actually was meant to run to January 2022 and the way i looked at it was even if it was costing me roughly an extra £30 a month i could live with missing 4 months cheaper energy. Plus with Sainsburys deal having no exist fees if in the unlikely event prices started dropping i had a way out if/when i wanted. When AVRO went a few days later they made my mind up for me. Lucky!!

I was lucky enough to get the earlier one in the start of September '21'.
After shopping around every year for the best deals over the last 10-12 years, as you did I had a feeling something was going to happen, because it's gotta be pretty grim if I'm considering a Sainsbury's deal (previous year's were extortion compared to rest (which have now collapsed))

I did exactly the same as you hummed and hawed over the 1 year fix and the 2 year fix from Sainsbury's. Wincing the 2 year fix was £15 a month more I opted for the 1 year fix. 
Sigh....

mexicano54

I've just got a quote from green energy fixed September 2023:

Gas Unit rate 11.75 SC 31.33

Electricity Unit rate 40.32 SC 31.14

Is this worth taking before the October increase?

And what do you think of their chances of going down like the other suppliers?