Energy Bills Crisis - Fixed vs Variable Tariffs? - Other Supplier Support?

BUFF

ThriftyThree said:

BUFF said:

ThriftyThree said:

BUFF said:

That's a very low gas consumption, what do you use it for (hob perhaps)?
2/3 of your bill is the standing charge.

Yes, it is low, our gas use vs electricity has always been miniscule. The only thing gas in the house is the cooker (oven, hob and grill). We don't use gas or electric central heating. Had gas but it failed many years ago and as there are only two of us in the house we just heat the rooms we occupy. 

Not sure we can really do much about that standing charge since we can't rebalance our usage towards gas (at least without a whole new central heating system - don't want the hassle or cost tbh).

I was thinking more along the lines of do you need the gas at all... Could you switch to an electric oven, grill & induction hob?
You could then do away with the gas.

Yes, good point. We actually considered doing that about 10-15 years ago when choosing a cooker but unfortunately it turned out we didn't have a cooker outlet in the kitchen so would have needed more electrical work so went/stuck with gas for ease of installation. 

Wouldn't we pay more though with unit cost for electricity being higher or are you saying removing that gas standing charge would offset that? 

We actually need a new cooker soon so definitely something to consider. 

Then again, with talk of enforced blackouts do we really want to get rid of the one thing in our house that can provide heat without electricity?

You have been paying ~£150 total bill of which ~£100 has been for sc, £50 for usage. Electricity per kWH is typically 3-4x more expensive so would be slightly dearer overall but it's close.
An induction hob is more efficient than a gas hob though so maybe start with that (you may need new pans though) & no potential gas leak/CO problems?
It's also worth pointing out that microwave/combi ovens probably (I haven't done the research to give figures) use less energy than gas ovens & then there are things like air fryers etc..

I fully appreciate the redundancy argument, it is 1 reason that I have a gas hob myself but the direction of travel is definitely >induction so when my kitchen next gets refitted I imagine that is what I will get.

4_Pete's_Sake

I am with E.ON Next.

We have been on a 1 year fixed rate tariff since 6/10/21. paying £135 a month or £1620 a year.

Our Annual Usage is 3265 kwh of Electricity and 19582 of Gas.

The new price capped rates are going to be as follows:

Electricity 51.89p per kwh and S/Charge of 46.36p per day = £1961.37 P.A

Gas 14.76p per kwh and S/Charge of 28.49 per day = £2994.29 P.A.

Total £4995.66 P.A. or £412.96 P.M

However based on our current annual usage they have also offered us a 1 year fixed rate at a cost of £5154.74 P.A or £429.56 P.M. (Just £16.60 a month more for a fix with No early exit penalties). It is called Next Online V.19.

In view of the further increases likely in January and April and in spite of the fact that this fix is more than triple what we are currently paying, we have already opted for this 1 year fix, which will commence on 6/10/22 when our current fix ends. Should the price suddenly drop then we can exit onto another deal or switch to another supplier without any penalty. This seems as good a deal as we wre likely to get at the moment, although it may not be available for much longer, hence me signing up as soon as I could. It is certainly open to all current E.ON Next Customers. However I'm not sure if it is available to customers of other energy suppliers. Last year the One year fix that I took was no longer available just 2 days later, therefore if you think something is a good deal, sign up while you can.

pochase

When was the tariff offered to you? It has been withdrawn already a while back.

Also only for existing customers.

jimjames

BUFF said:

ThriftyThree said:

BUFF said:

That's a very low gas consumption, what do you use it for (hob perhaps)?
2/3 of your bill is the standing charge.

Yes, it is low, our gas use vs electricity has always been miniscule. The only thing gas in the house is the cooker (oven, hob and grill). We don't use gas or electric central heating. Had gas but it failed many years ago and as there are only two of us in the house we just heat the rooms we occupy. 

Not sure we can really do much about that standing charge since we can't rebalance our usage towards gas (at least without a whole new central heating system - don't want the hassle or cost tbh).

I was thinking more along the lines of do you need the gas at all... Could you switch to an electric oven, grill & induction hob?
You could then do away with the gas.

Alternatively it might be cost effective to get a gas boiler fitted again unless the whole system was ripped out previously. The savings for heating vs electric might well pay for it at current rates.

Marypw

Yes, I have taken up Eon Next v19 for exactly the same reasoning.  However, I believe v20 is the new option.

4_Pete's_Sake

pochase said:

When was the tariff offered to you? It has been withdrawn already a while back.

Also only for existing customers.

I received the email offering me the deal from E.ON Next at 08.06 on Monday 22/8/2022 and phoned them at 13.46 today (30/8/22) to discuss the deal and to request to be switched to it when our current fixed rate deal ends on 6/10/2022. Within minutes I received an email confirming the details of my the new Tariff commencing on 6/10/22.

Thanks for confirming that it is only for existing customers, I did wonder if that was the case from something that Martin mentioned in an article. This Next Online V.19 is clearly still available to E.ON Customers but may not be available for much longer.

4_Pete's_Sake

Marypw said:

Yes, I have taken up Eon Next v19 for exactly the same reasoning.  However, I believe v20 is the new option.

Maybe I was able to take out V.19 when I called on 30/8/22 because I had been offered it in their email.

EssexHebridean

BUFF said:

ThriftyThree said:

BUFF said:

That's a very low gas consumption, what do you use it for (hob perhaps)?
2/3 of your bill is the standing charge.

Yes, it is low, our gas use vs electricity has always been miniscule. The only thing gas in the house is the cooker (oven, hob and grill). We don't use gas or electric central heating. Had gas but it failed many years ago and as there are only two of us in the house we just heat the rooms we occupy. 

Not sure we can really do much about that standing charge since we can't rebalance our usage towards gas (at least without a whole new central heating system - don't want the hassle or cost tbh).

I was thinking more along the lines of do you need the gas at all... Could you switch to an electric oven, grill & induction hob?
You could then do away with the gas.

We’ve done the maths on this one - right now, even allowing the high percentage of the bill the SC makes up, it’s still more cost effective to retain the current cooker and keep the status quo - running an electric cooker is quite simply far more expensive, and by the time you take into account the added costs of needing to actually purchase a replacement, having the correct wired connection put in, and then having the meter removed, the books simply don’t balance out in favour of switching to electric for cooking. 

ThriftyThree

Seems Martin Lewis is now saying fixed plan may be worth it if within 120% of current variable price: https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/martin-lewis-issues-fresh-advice-24852952

So wondering if it is worth me asking BG about fixed plans despite general consensus being that it is too late for a fixed deal? 

Impression I got earlier in the thread is that I wouldn't be offered anything within 120% of the £160pm I pay on the variable tariff?

Bit confusing TBH, these deals must be out there if he is telling ppl to go for them surely? Unless it's just a case of ppl getting lucky grabbing offers the suppliers 'forgot' to withdraw?

EssexHebridean

A suggestion - try to stop focusing on "X% above £X per month" as this isn't a helpful comparison - you need to be thinking in terms of comparing the units prices to properly inform a decision about fixing, coupled with a clear knowledge about your use. 

I believe Martin has recently been saying that essentially right now the ONLY fixes out there at all, pretty much, are those which are being offered to new customers - so it may be worth keeping your eye on your inbox to see if BG come through with anything. I don't think I'd be holding my breath though.