Energy Prices confusion

matelodave

I'm guessing that by the time it all gets sorted out there will be very few people who will see an actual £150 off their bills

Ildhund

The actual figure - £154 - was arrived at by estimating the total cost of the two schemes and dividing by an estimated number of customers. Real back-of-a-fag-packet stuff, which they admitted to at the bottom of p. 25 here: Budget_2025_-_Data_Sources.pdf.

IOWJJBTM2025

matelodave said:

I'm guessing that by the time it all gets sorted out there will be very few people who will see an actual £150 off their bills

matelodave - This is exactly where I am.
I am also thinking that the costs for the suppliers associated with implementing the budget discount - meetings to finalise methods/ new billing design / Q&A information updates etc. will need to be added up and paid for which could also reduce the saving. Why should the suppliers have to pick up the additional costs for something that the government has pushed onto them. Change = Cost

My question now is should I fix now or wait until after April to see what happens. :- 

The current rates today for Home Energy are £174 per month for my usage. I have very little understanding for what is going to happen to Home Energy Rates over the next year but am reassured that I can leave at any time without having to pay an early exit fee. If markets do crazy I know that the rates cannot go over the price cap which for me is currently £209 per month.

For an additional £4 per month I can fix with a single supplier for both Electric and Gas at £178 per month for 12 Months. If the supplier energy costs increase win win, If costs decrease it needs to be considerable for me to pay £150 to exit early to move onto a better cheaper deal.

If I fix now I think I should get a credit of £12 per month from April'26 for the government discount. This would result in a fixed cost for the next year of £168 per month for my usage.

If I wait to fix until after April'26 there is a chance that the government discount will be incorporated into the rate and question if I would I be able to get a 12 month fix for £168 per month or less?

Incidentally I had a quick look at having separate suppliers for fixing Gas and Electricity. This works out at £175 per month (£3 per month saving) and the advantage here is if just one on the fuels price decreases in the future, it is only £75 to exit early and change.

If my goal was to fix for longer to allow me to secure my costs for longer  I could get a 24 month fix for £195 per month with £150 early exit fee.

We all want to pay as little as possible for our energy especially as all our other bills are rising. As you can see - there are not massive differences and are not likely to make any massive savings.

The forecasts for both Octopus and EDF over the next year are not showing any concerns for big rises so perhaps there is no desperate need to rush.

debitcardmayhem

You do realise that the fixed part of your deal only applies to the cost per kWh, use 10% more kWh you pay 10% more (ignoring Standing charge)