What are the estimates now for unit rates and standing charges on the price cap in Oct and Jan?

What_time_is_it

I really need help on this. It's so confusing and if my calculations are correct we will spend all of our savings in a very short space of time. My mother-in-law will not move out of her massive old house and I think her energy bills will be £10k+ a year. Maybe higher again the year after. Just her energy and council tax will be more than her income. We will end up spending all of our money just to keep her in her knackered old house.

I really need to understand how much this will cost us. Help!!!

pochase

Just a very basic calculation. Increase from 3240 to 3500 new prediction is about 8%. Assuming every part of the energy bill will increase by the same 8% (which almost for certain will not be the case) the gas rate will go up from 14.17p to 15.33p.

So the 60k gas will cost a minimum of £9180 excluding standing charges.

I believe you did fix with Green Energy UK? Why did you not do the same for your MIL, you are looking at a difference of over £2000? I assume your MIL is "happy" with her supplier and does not want a different one?

What_time_is_it

pochase said:

Just a very basic calculation. Increase from 3240 to 3500 new prediction is about 8%. Assuming every part of the energy bill will increase by the same 8% (which almost for certain will not be the case) the gas rate will go up from 14.17p to 15.33p.

So the 60k gas will cost a minimum of £9180 excluding standing charges.

I believe you did fix with Green Energy UK? Why did you not do the same for your MIL, you are looking at a difference of over £2000? I assume your MIL is "happy" with her supplier and does not want a different one?

Thanks.
We did fix with GE for both ourselves and my MiL.

What_time_is_it

wittynamegoeshere said:

I was just thinking the other day that the government should provide a "Help to Move" service, surely this would be a much better use of public money instead of lobbing cash at people.  There must be lots of oldies in massive houses that they can't afford to heat, meanwhile there are young families crammed into flats who would welcome loads of fixer-upper big old houses appearing on the market.  It all seems very wrong at the moment.

This is an excellent idea. I've thought the same thing myself. There must be lots of people in a similar position. 
Like you say, it would benefit both the seller and the buyer.

pochase

In this case I don't understand for what you need the new cap rates for? You know what your rates are for the next 14 months.

What_time_is_it

wittynamegoeshere said:

Have you tried suggesting attractive options, perhaps printing a few brochures etc?  Perhaps she's imagining that the only option is an old folks home with a bowl of over-boiled cabbage and bingo every day, in which case her resistance is understandable.

We've talked it over with her a lot.
Without going into too much detail, she was born in Berlin at the start of the war, so lived through two sets of extreme governments, both of which effectively turfed her out of her homes. Like everyone else, her mindset is a product of her experiences.

Ballymoney

I appreciate you’re in a difficult situation but your reply to all the helpful advice on here across multiple threads is always ‘my MIL is stubborn, we can’t do that’.

There comes a time when you have to just take matters in to your own hands and make the decision for your MIL behind her back. 

Yes, this is a tough stance but if you are about to lose your life savings just to cover her fuel bills then ultimately it’s not up to your MIL whether you make changes or not to her current arrangements. If she doesn’t want to move to a new, cheaper provider…tough, do it for her.

You HAVE to reduce her usage. It sounds like she lives in a house far larger than she needs. Whether she likes it or not, you absolutely have to limit the heating to only the rooms she uses. I think you mentioned a new boiler…hopefully that will be more economical. I’d even be tempted to install a thermostat that can be accessed remotely so you can keep an eye on it (ie. Does it need to be at 21c at 3am).

Good luck with it but ultimately there comes a time when you have to be equally, if not more, stubborn as she is.

What_time_is_it

You are right @ballymoney. These are all excellent points.
We are trying to walk the line between making a loved one happy whilst not spending too much in doing so.

What_time_is_it

pochase said:

In this case I don't understand for what you need the new cap rates for? You know what your rates are for the next 14 months.

I'm trying to budget for the winter after that! 

Ballymoney

Your MIL has to understand that what potentially makes her happy could bankrupt you! I wish you the best of luck. You sound like an incredibly caring person who deserves better.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

the Oct/Jan cap won't affect you, you've got a fix, you know your prices, so you'll be sitting cosy whilst others will be dreading a long cold winter.