Octopus 12 month fixed price ends - what should I choose?

enginestar

I got an email from Octopus saying the 12 month fixed price is ending in a few days.

I'm confused what to do. What is the general consensus?

I chose Octopus as I thought it meant not having to worry about any of the switching as you got the best deal always?

Thanks

FrugaiMacDugal

You thought wrong.

You got the best deal, that suited you at the time, for 12 months, now it's coming to an end.

What deal is Octopus offering you now to stay?

Bung your actual annual usage figures into CEC and see what switching deals are on offer from other providers

Baldytyke88

Over past 12 months, average Octopus Tracker rates were lower than Flexible Octopus

bristolleedsfan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82165833#Comment_82165833

Did you see reply to your 2nd October post when you quoted what AI said on the subject ???

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156316#Comment_82156316

prowla

Right now could be a bad time to go for a fixed deal, since:

1. the Iran situation could (hopefully should!) be resolved within a year, and
2. the deals have an exit charge.

However, if prices don't go down then the above might be bad advice!

bristolleedsfan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82165888#Comment_82165888

Some suppliers do not charge exit fees for change of tariff.

When I looked on the weekend Electricity 12 month fix with no exit fees unit rate was cheaper than Octopus 12 and 18 month E fix unit rates. gas dearer due to being "green gas"

https://100green.com/our-tariffs/

MarzipanCrumble

Sounds to me @enginestar that you are risk averse. Octopus shows your annual kwh usage either on your bills or your quote. Use that for the comparison sites.

Note that energy costs are predicted to increase by 20% in January.

Baldytyke88

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82165847#Comment_82165847

Trackers are always going to be higher in the colder months, if you fix in the colder months, people would likely pay less initially, but then they will be paying more when it's warmer and there is less demand and prices drop.

double_dutchy

I'm not sure that trackers are necessarily higher in colder months, I think it depends more on price trends.

By definition a tracker like Octopus will get you early exposure to any price movements, so at the moment that means you will likely get the current price rises more quickly than others - when prices are coming down you get the lower prices more quickly too.

Baldytyke88

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82166156#Comment_82166156

The whole point of a fix for 12/18/24 months is the gamble that the price is right to balance between the Winter and Summer price. It's a gamble. Is Octopus the only company that doesn't take that gamble?

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82166912#Comment_82166912

The energy companies do not generally 'gamble' they hedge their expected future energy needs with contracts that guarantee them a certain amount at a certain price in the future. This is what they use to back the various fixed tariffs that they offer.

A tracker tariff on the other-hand simply follows the market, no hedging required.

The energy suppliers that were gambling and not hedging are the ones that no longer exist…