Energy price cap freeze on a fixed tariff

ElizaSue

si_74 said:

ElizaSue said:

si_74 said:

ElizaSue said:

I'm in the same situation with EDF and the exit fees are £300.  I didn't envisage that the Government would freeze the energy cap.  I have now gone from feeling reasonably comfortable that I could pay my energy bills to rather concerned.  If the energy cap is frozen, then for me the tables have turned as I'll be losing out big time.

I am also on an EDF fix, May24v3. I don't know which fix you are on but assuming it is a similar rate to mine then I posted my own calculations earlier in this thread.

Essentially, if the cap is frozen at April 22 levels then, over a full 12 months, it will still save me money even if I have to pay the exit fee to move onto the SVT.

If it is true that the bill cap will be £2500 for the mythical average usage then my fix is around about bang on that.

As you have said yourself you have been feeling reasonably comfortable in paying your bill and now, even in the worst case scenario your bill won't be going up, so with a combination of that and your peace of mind over the last few weeks and/or months I would say that you can still feel reasonably comfortable.

No, mine was a July 22 fix, so higher than yours and I have done my sums.  Would have been about £35 to 40 a month better off on the SVR if they freeze the cap.  I couldn't fix before then because I was still on a very low, fixed rate contract which ended in June.

Ok, so the calculation will be a little different to mine, and of course IF the price cap is frozen at april 22 levels, and IF the exit fee is not waived then of course you will not be as well off as if you had stayed on the SVT. But I don't think anyone thought the govt were going to do a cap or bill freeze, so your decision making was sound in my opinion.

However if you are currently paying £35-£40 a month more than the april cap then the £300 exit fee will be paid off in 8 or 9 or months should you decide to go down that route after the announcement is made, you are then in territory where your bills are lower than they would have been on the fix.

How long any government support goes on for could then raise a dilemma for people in our position. If it is a year do we hold onto the fix knowing that year 2 will not see an increase or do we give up on the fix on the hope that more govt intervention comes, or that prices calm.

Thank you, much of what you say makes sense.  It is the current uncertainty and media speculation that is giving many of us cause for concern.

Froglet

si_74 said:

I fixed in June/July - £300 exit fee, over the current cap, but well below the October one.

I have had several months of peace of mind. It was a gamble taking it, I knew this at the time and was happy to take that gamble as it was the best decision for me at that time. I had full sight of the risk it may turn out to be a decision that would cost me.

Do I want everyone else to be paying excruciatingly high energy prices and not be able to afford to turn their gas on just so that i can be proved to have made the 'right' decision'?.....no I do not!

I have my doubts that freezing the cap will happen, it is an eye wateringly expensive option and gives support to those that really don't need it as well as those that do. However, if this is the route the government go then the detail will be interesting, is it a flat freeze of the cap or limited to numbers of kwn used? How long is the commitment for, will it cover the January and April cap announcements as well?

Once this is known I will open up my spreadsheet and do some working out. If it is better for me to pay the £300 to get out of the fix then it means not so many people are going to get into huge energy debt, or not so many people will be sitting in cold homes. This thought will be good enough for me rather than looking inwardly at my situation and complaining. A reality check of where we are and a view of the bigger picture is required by some I think.

That is a lovely,unselfish attitude to have,taking onto.account those who are struggling now,and making themselves sick worrying about the next price rises.
It's a pity more people don't think like you.

Ex_welsh_borrower

Looks like the freeze will be at an average spend of £2,500 a year according to the update at 15:47 here Liz Truss is new UK prime minister after meeting Queen - BBC News

nekr0mantik

Ex_welsh_borrower said:

Looks like the freeze will be at an average spend of £2,500 a year according to the update at 15:47 here Liz Truss is new UK prime minister after meeting Queen - BBC News

As predicted not good enough.
If they lowering October cap to 2500 but it's not a freeze it means January price cap change will still apply so what they gonna do then?
Labor plan was much better.
The 18 month freeze sounded too good to be true lol

deano2099

ElizaSue said:

I'm in the same situation with EDF that has dual fuel exit fees of £300 (24 month fix).  I didn't envisage that the Government would freeze the energy cap.  I thought they would increase benefits for poorer households.  I have now gone from feeling reasonably comfortable that I could pay my energy bills to rather concerned that I'll be paying much more than if I had stayed on the variable rate.  If the energy cap is frozen, then for me the tables will have turned because I'll be losing out big time.

While that's fair, the crucial thing is that you "feel reasonably comfortable that you can pay your energy bills" - that doesn't change (unless they ditch the £400) as your price doesn't change. Are you now getting a worse deal compared to other people? Yes. But you can surely see that other people not on a fix could use exactly the same argument in reverse: that they'd have been paying much more than people in your position.

jimexbox

nekr0mantik said:

Ex_welsh_borrower said:

Looks like the freeze will be at an average spend of £2,500 a year according to the update at 15:47 here Liz Truss is new UK prime minister after meeting Queen - BBC News

As predicted not good enough.
If they lowering October cap to 2500 but it's not a freeze it means January price cap change will still apply so what they gonna do then?
Labor plan was much better.
The 18 month freeze sounded too good to be true lol

The telegraph are reporting a price freeze of £2500 lasting two winters, so into 2024.

With the discount this winter of at least £400. Is that good enough for you? 

deano2099

I guess for me the fundamental question is that, if you were on a fix, and so were going to be getting significantly cheaper energy over the next six months than half the population, did you feel that was fair?
If so, how can it be not be fair if the positions are reversed and now you're paying more than the other group?
It seems people were fine with there being significant differences in what people were paying, as long as they were in the group paying less.

I don't think the argument that "I couldn't have possibly foreseen the government doing this" is valid as there are people on here who absolutely did predict that. Not me, but people have called it. 

Spies

Can anyone have a guess at the unit rates for a £2500 cap? 

Mstty

deano2099 said:

I guess for me the fundamental question is that, if you were on a fix, and so were going to be getting significantly cheaper energy over the next six months than half the population, did you feel that was fair?
If so, how can it be not be fair if the positions are reversed and now you're paying more than the other group?
It seems people were fine with there being significant differences in what people were paying, as long as they were in the group paying less.

I don't think the argument that "I couldn't have possibly foreseen the government doing this" is valid as there are people on here who absolutely did predict that. Not me, but people have called it. 

And a lot of the decent fixes were a lottery of who you ended up with from the SOLR process.

We were lucky we ended up with Eon Next and feel very fortunate.

Sea_Shell

Spies said:

Can anyone have a guess at the unit rates for a £2500 cap? 

I was just about to ask that! 😉

Assuming SC stay unaltered.

£2500 seems to be gaining the most traction in the media....leaked?