Possible daft question - are all variable tariffs now the same?

mwahahaha

Hi everyone,

Apologies if I’m asking a daft question. I am a victim of the Green Energy supplier of last resort move to Shell Energy. Imho Shell energy have been a total disaster, they have never responded to a support request unless I tweet them a week after emailing with no response.

I figured that given I’m on the variable rate for the first time in so many years (we remember you MSE Cheap Energy club - thank you!), I could at least give money to a provider I don’t begrudge quite so much?

Are the variable rate tariffs essentially the same with different companies? Could I move to a different provider without shooting myself in the foot?

Thank you!

[Deleted User]

All standard variable rates at the moment seem to be at the capped level and are, as you suggest, essentially the same.

superkoopauk

Utility Warehouse offer a % discount on the cap level (more as you take more services).  However with the new government announcement it looks like all tariffs will end up at the £2500 level anyway.

Krakkkers

All the variables are fixed but the fixed rates vary.

Planeteer

You might actually be right - judging by the govt factsheet - the latest 'energy guarantee' might just equalise all tariffs to this. Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022

MWT

Possibly not if you are on E7 though... (or E10 etc. )

JohnB47

I guess the answer is yes.

However, some suppliers may offer incentives. For example, Octopus gives a small discount, per day, on the standing charge of electricity, at 13.15p per day. That's £48 off the electricity bill per year. This is temporary, so it could disappear at any time.

Edited shortly after posting

tux900

Krakkkers said:

All the variables are fixed but the fixed rates vary.

  

mwahahaha

Thank you everyone, I’m going to call Octopus on Monday and see if the standing charges and unit costs are the same.Not expecting to save anything for obvious reasons, but if I can, I’d rather not give Shell Energy any more money.

Thanks again for your help all, really appreciate your time!

Spoonie_Turtle

mwahahaha said:

Thank you everyone, I’m going to call Octopus on Monday and see if the standing charges and unit costs are the same.Not expecting to save anything for obvious reasons, but if I can, I’d rather not give Shell Energy any more money.

Thanks again for your help all, really appreciate your time!

You can find out the current tariff rates here - put in your postcode and scroll down.  Easier if you click the 'domestic' and 'flexible' filters; the SVT is Flexible Octopus
https://octopus.energy/tariffs/

Or if you know which is your energy region, https://octopus.energy/documents/122/Flexible_Octopus_April_2022__PDF_VAT.pdf

t0rt0ise

I just moved to Octopus. It took two days from asking to it being completed. Super quick. I believe the 50 pound discount somebody mentioned is only for those who were customers at a certain date in the past, so the price is essentially at the cap.