Should I fix?

RhiBi

I’m sorry if this question gets asked a lot.  I’ve hopefully pasted a screenshot below.  I am currently on the octopus flexible tariff paying £100 a month and am £201 in credit.  I just don’t know what to do and July 1st is looming.

MeteredOut

You're right it does get asked a lot. Did you read those other threads?

No-one can tell you whether fixing might be good for you without knowing your usage profile: gas and/or electric, kWh usage, EV or not, solar or not, battery or not, whether you can load shift to avoid peak times, electric showers or not, where you live, whether you have a smart meter etc. And, what is your risk appetite? Do you need to know what each unit of energy will cost you each month or are you willing for that to change. Do you want to try one of the smart tariffs where the unit rates change per day or even per hour.

Have you put your actual usage into comparison sites to see the different tariffs available to you?

And, even then, no-one but you can decide.

RhiBi

I have been reading but I’m just getting more confused.  I work from home a lot (I’ve got the tax benefit), no EV or solar panels, shower is gas boiler powered.  It just all confuses me, sorry.

mebu60

Depends what you believe is going to happen in October and January.

FWIW I fixed back in March on the April rate. That will be slightly over from July, £10pcm approx on an annualised basis but much lower in reality as it's summer, so I'm sticking with the fix as I expect Oct & Jan to go up more. 

There's no exit fees so I can bale if needs be but happy to gamble that a small overpayment for three months will lead to greater savings for six months. 

MP1995

Reading some of your previous posts during the energy crisis can I ask why you have not read your responses there and learnt about energy and prices?

Anyway moving on

Simply put if you have spare cash you can take more chances with your Energy tariffs and costs. However if finances are tight fix now, although octopus may not be the cheapest for a fix.

BarelySentientAI

Do you think prices will go up or down?  By how much and when?

Do you think the fixes that will be offered in the future will be higher or lower than the ones offered today?  By how much and when will they be offered?

How much energy do you use and when in the year?  Do you think that will change, by how much and when?

Answer all those questions, and the result becomes obvious.  If any of your answers turn out to be wrong in hindsight, then you would have to accept having made the 'wrong' choice.

BarelySentientAI

MP1995 said:

Simply put if you have spare cash you can take more chances with your Energy tariffs and costs. However if finances are tight fix now, although octopus may not be the cheapest for a fix.

If finances are tight, addressing consumption is likely to be much more important than fixing a particular unit rate (unless a very low user when locking in a low SC could 'win' - but this seems unlikely given the OP).

EssexHebridean

HI OP. As far as I can see you've not actually given details of the tariff that you are looking at fixing on? If you pop a screenshot of that in the thread then people will be able to tell you what they might be inclined to do in your situation, in the light of the current predictions for changes to pricing later in the year.