How should I advise my mum

hotpot

My elderly mum has a fixed rate economy 7 ( V3 fixed rate energy only) with shell energy ending in the next 3 weeks. They told me they don’t do a new fixed rate at the moment. I don’t know how to help her.  They want to put hero. Flexible 7 economy 7. She has storage heaters that’s why she is in economy 7… can anyone guide me please?

luvchocolate

Hi I'm also with Shell and fix coming to end shortly. Not on economy 7 but they're not offering me a fix so I'm staying with their variable. 
I thing the poster on here will need to know how much energy she uses and the price of electricity offered to be able to help further. 
If possible post this information. 
I've been amazed at the effort used to help people. 
Thank you 

Mstty

I am really sorry to say that at the moment there are a few energy companies offering no fix deals to beat the upcoming October Price rises.

The other issue is that companies offering fix rates are not necessarily taking on switching customers and offering them their fix rates either so those unlucky customers are stuck.

The best, well only, advice is to stay on their variable rate tariff.

However keep an eye on this information page as a supplier that will take on a switching customer on a fixed deal may appear 👍

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/-are-there-any-cheap--fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it--/

Reed_Richards

Exact prices vary from region to region but these are the tariffs for "Flexible 7 Economy 7" where I live:

Tariff name Flexible 7 Economy 7
Electricity Only Direct Debit ebill
Tariff type Variable Payment method Direct Debit
Unit rate Day: 31.652p per kWh Night: 18.848p per kWh
Standing charge 49.73p per day
Tariff ends on n/a
Price guaranteed until n/a Exit fees (if you cancel the tariff before this date) n/a
Discounts and additional charges n/a
Additional products or services included n/a 

I chose the option of online billing when seeking a quote; I don't know if that affects the tariffs offered.

I presume this is their Standard Variable Rate tariff.  Your mother will find herself paying a lot more per month than she was previously but this is likely to be as low a set of charges that she will find.

QrizB

hotpot said:

My elderly mum has a fixed rate economy 7 ( V3 fixed rate energy only) with shell energy ending in the next 3 weeks. They told me they don’t do a new fixed rate at the moment. I don’t know how to help her.  They want to put hero. Flexible 7 economy 7. She has storage heaters that’s why she is in economy 7… can anyone guide me please?

As others have said, Shell's only tariff is their standard variable one "Flexible 7". At the moment this is the pretty much same as the variable tariff on offer from every other supplier.

The only fixed-rate tariffs on offer, anywhere, are more expensive than the variable ones. Variable tariffs are expected to rise in October. MSE have an article here that shows which of those offers might work out cheaper overall, when the October increase is taken into account.

The cheapest fix you can switch to, per the current MSE article, is E.On Next 1 Yr V11. Here are the tariff details for my region from this link:

• Eco 7 Electricity
• Day unit rate    43.55 p/kWh
• Night unit rate    27.13 p/kWh
• Standing charge    43.48 p/day

You can see that's a lot more than the current Flexible 7 rates that Reed_Richards has shared above, but it;s slightly lower than the expected variable tariff rates from October.

Here are the full details for anyone else who is interested:

Mstty

@QrizB the market has closed for those stuck and wanting to switch for a fix😥

QrizB

Mstty said:

QrizB the market has closed for those stuck and wanting to switch for a fix😥

The market isn't closed, there are several fixed tariffs available for switchers. They're just not cheap.

MSE's Cheap Energy Club comparison tool offers me a choice of four:

• E.ON Next Next 1 yr V11 (as quoted above) (+£618/yr vs SVT for my household consumption)
• OVO Better Smart 17 June 2022 (+£911)
  
• OVO 2 Year Fixed 17 June 2022 (+£917)
  
• Outfox The Market Fix'd 22 6.0 (+£1721)
  

I'm not intending to take any of those but the E.ON Next offer is the better one.

Mstty

It is closed if they aren't cheap, where as a few weeks ago it was definitely open.

I guess they have done their calculations for October now.

QrizB

Mstty said:

It is closed if they aren't cheap, where as a few weeks ago it was definitely open.

I'm not at all sure what point you're trying to make here.

• The market is clearly open as there are suppliers offering fixed-rate tariffs to switching consumers.
• The energy suppliers compete amongst themselves for customers but (SVT aside) can only offer the tariffs they can afford to fulfill.
• Currently, fixed-rate tariffs are available and at least one of then, that E.ON Next 1yr V11, is cheaper than some forecasts for the October cap.

Sea_Shell

QrizB said:

Mstty said:

QrizB the market has closed for those stuck and wanting to switch for a fix😥

The market isn't closed, there are several fixed tariffs available for switchers. They're just not cheap.

MSE's Cheap Energy Club comparison tool offers me a choice of four:

• E.ON Next Next 1 yr V11 (as quoted above) (+£618/yr vs SVT for my household consumption)
• OVO Better Smart 17 June 2022 (+£911)
  
• OVO 2 Year Fixed 17 June 2022 (+£917)
  
• Outfox The Market Fix'd 22 6.0 (+£1721)
  

I'm not intending to take any of those but the E.ON Next offer is the better one.

AKA Hobson's Choice!! 😉

Mstty

Indeed @Sea_Shell not going to feed something to the end of the line.

Hobson's means no choice👍

Market may well be dead until...........