BG Fixed Tariff

ArbitraryRandom

QrizB said:

barker77 said:

Hard to believe general public will want to pay much more than currently tho ,,,

What the public wants to pay is immaterial. Wholesale gas costs what gas costs.

barker77 said:

... so suspect gov would keep cap similar ...

Ofgem sets its cap based on a fixed and largely transparent process. If wholesale gas prices go up, it's almost inevitable that the cap will also go up.

The only time the government comes into it is when they set something like the Energy Price Guarantee.

Will be interesting to see what the government do if the price does rise significantly though - they've set a heck of a precedent for intervention this past few years and seem very keen to win votes ahead of the upcoming election (I guess they'd do polling to see if more subsidy will win or lose them votes). 

spot1034

ArbitraryRandom said:

QrizB said:

barker77 said:

Hard to believe general public will want to pay much more than currently tho ,,,

What the public wants to pay is immaterial. Wholesale gas costs what gas costs.

barker77 said:

... so suspect gov would keep cap similar ...

Ofgem sets its cap based on a fixed and largely transparent process. If wholesale gas prices go up, it's almost inevitable that the cap will also go up.

The only time the government comes into it is when they set something like the Energy Price Guarantee.

Will be interesting to see what the government do if the price does rise significantly though - they've set a heck of a precedent for intervention this past few years and seem very keen to win votes ahead of the upcoming election (I guess they'd do polling to see if more subsidy will win or lose them votes). 

What will probably save them is that the assessment period for the most expensive quarter - January to March - is already two-thirds gone, so unless prices go absolutely through the roof in the next month, the rise in the January price cap, although probably a little higher than previous estimates, will be manageable. However the price cap from April could now actually be higher than January if we see prices in the market stay high or even go higher during the next assessment period. This is one of the reasons I've suggested that fixes presently available might disappear in the coming days - there is now a greater likelihood of prices staying higher for longer.

Profiterole

You make good points spot and others thanks.

A useful link for anyone else considering this: UK Natural Gas - 2023 Data - 1997-2022 Historical - 2024 Forecast - Price - Quote (tradingeconomics.com)

Must admit I'm swaying to Fixing. The only thing stopping me right now is it will then cost me to Switch to Octopus Energy if I decided to do that further down the line. I don't think I have time to Switch and then Fix with Octopus.

QrizB

Profiterole said:

I don't think I have time to Switch and then Fix with Octopus.

You should be able to switch in less than a week, and then ask to change from Flexible to Fixed a day or two after the switch completes.

What's your deadline again?

AbbieCadabra

QrizB said:

Profiterole said:

I don't think I have time to Switch and then Fix with Octopus.

You should be able to switch in less than a week, and then ask to change from Flexible to Fixed a day or two after the switch completes.

What's your deadline again?

this is what i'm doing, just signed up with Octopus & it's advising only 2 days for the transfer so live from 18th. Just hope the current fix is still available then! (i'm guessing it will still be better than the fix i did yesterday with BG, 1 year at 9% above current cap, before realising today that Octopus is a better option. Reversed back to SVR online with BG this morning (updated straight away) before applying to Octopus).

Profiterole

AbbieCadabra said:

QrizB said:

Profiterole said:

I don't think I have time to Switch and then Fix with Octopus.

You should be able to switch in less than a week, and then ask to change from Flexible to Fixed a day or two after the switch completes.

What's your deadline again?

this is what i'm doing, just signed up with Octopus & it's advising only 2 days for the transfer so live from 18th. Just hope the current fix is still available then! (i'm guessing it will still be better than the fix i did yesterday with BG, 1 year at 9% above current cap, before realising today that Octopus is a better option. Reversed back to SVR online with BG this morning (updated straight away) before applying to Octopus).

Hi, may be too late now I guess, but in my research, I think there is a way to get £50 Credit on your Switch if referred by a current Octopus Customer. Not sure if posting referral links is allowed, but may be worth checking with existing Octopus Customers?

I did a Google Search for 'Octopus Energy Switch Offer' if it helps and looking on the Octopus Site it does say can be applied retrospectively.

Hope it helps you and nice work you are certainly more proactive than me lol I'm still sticking my head in the sand....

AbbieCadabra

Profiterole said:

AbbieCadabra said:

QrizB said:

Profiterole said:

I don't think I have time to Switch and then Fix with Octopus.

You should be able to switch in less than a week, and then ask to change from Flexible to Fixed a day or two after the switch completes.

What's your deadline again?

this is what i'm doing, just signed up with Octopus & it's advising only 2 days for the transfer so live from 18th. Just hope the current fix is still available then! (i'm guessing it will still be better than the fix i did yesterday with BG, 1 year at 9% above current cap, before realising today that Octopus is a better option. Reversed back to SVR online with BG this morning (updated straight away) before applying to Octopus).

Hi, may be too late now I guess, but in my research, I think there is a way to get £50 Credit on your Switch if referred by a current Octopus Customer. Not sure if posting referral links is allowed, but may be worth checking with existing Octopus Customers?

I did a Google Search for 'Octopus Energy Switch Offer' if it helps and looking on the Octopus Site it does say can be applied retrospectively.

Hope it helps you and nice work you are certainly more proactive than me lol I'm still sticking my head in the sand....

thank you, i did use a referral code for the application (it can be used retrospectively too if you forget at the time, just message them & they'll add to your account). it was a £75 offer one, the person who's code is used gives you £25 of their credit via paypal/bank transfer (i found a few who do this, looks quite profitable if you can get in top search results, this guy has been doing it since 2018 & i found another with her own facebook group who was getting quite a few referrals every month, nice money!), even if it doesn't work out, it's still £50 credit.

AbbieCadabra

Profiterole said:

AbbieCadabra said:

QrizB said:

Profiterole said:

I don't think I have time to Switch and then Fix with Octopus.

You should be able to switch in less than a week, and then ask to change from Flexible to Fixed a day or two after the switch completes.

What's your deadline again?

this is what i'm doing, just signed up with Octopus & it's advising only 2 days for the transfer so live from 18th. Just hope the current fix is still available then! (i'm guessing it will still be better than the fix i did yesterday with BG, 1 year at 9% above current cap, before realising today that Octopus is a better option. Reversed back to SVR online with BG this morning (updated straight away) before applying to Octopus).

Hi, may be too late now I guess, but in my research, I think there is a way to get £50 Credit on your Switch if referred by a current Octopus Customer. Not sure if posting referral links is allowed, but may be worth checking with existing Octopus Customers?

I did a Google Search for 'Octopus Energy Switch Offer' if it helps and looking on the Octopus Site it does say can be applied retrospectively.

Hope it helps you and nice work you are certainly more proactive than me lol I'm still sticking my head in the sand....

FYI - Octopus have just confirmed fixed tariffs are only available for customers that have been with them for 'some time'. I'm still happier to be with them going forward, than pay 9% over current price cap with BG on a 1 year fix.

bristolleedsfan

AbbieCadabra said:

Profiterole said:

AbbieCadabra said:

QrizB said:

Profiterole said:

I don't think I have time to Switch and then Fix with Octopus.

You should be able to switch in less than a week, and then ask to change from Flexible to Fixed a day or two after the switch completes.

What's your deadline again?

this is what i'm doing, just signed up with Octopus & it's advising only 2 days for the transfer so live from 18th. Just hope the current fix is still available then! (i'm guessing it will still be better than the fix i did yesterday with BG, 1 year at 9% above current cap, before realising today that Octopus is a better option. Reversed back to SVR online with BG this morning (updated straight away) before applying to Octopus).

Hi, may be too late now I guess, but in my research, I think there is a way to get £50 Credit on your Switch if referred by a current Octopus Customer. Not sure if posting referral links is allowed, but may be worth checking with existing Octopus Customers?

I did a Google Search for 'Octopus Energy Switch Offer' if it helps and looking on the Octopus Site it does say can be applied retrospectively.

Hope it helps you and nice work you are certainly more proactive than me lol I'm still sticking my head in the sand....

FYI - Octopus have just confirmed fixed tariffs are only available for customers that have been with them for 'some time'. I'm still happier to be with them going forward, than pay 9% over current price cap with BG on a 1 year fix.

Within account dashboard usually a change my tariff option, worth a look to see if offers fixed rate option.

Chris_b2z

My understanding is that internal tariff switches within British Gas have always been exempt from exit fees. So even though you start paying a less competitive rate you can always switch without penalty should much cheaper tariffs become available throughout the year. It's not such a bad way to hedge your bets in these uncertain times.