Gas/Electricity Price Increases

[LeMarchand]

Soooo...

 

Lots in the news about the upcoming increases, so looking for some advice.

 

We're currently on a variable rate tariff, paying £104/month total for both fuels. Worried by all the stuff in the news, I've looked at fixed rate - this will be £150/month. Trawling the price comparison sites etc suggests this isn't a bad deal.

 

However, our October DD looks like it will be £120/month. I don't need to give notice, so should I keep my fingers crossed and only move to fixed rate when the rice gap closes? Or would the fixed rate price have risen even further by then?

 

The USwitch site says:

 

Rising energy prices mean there are less cheap deals available right now.

Don’t worry. Following the October increase, your current rates cannot rise until 1 April 2022 as they’re protected by the energy price cap. If a better deal becomes available, you have no exit fee so you’ll be free to switch.

We’re working hard to get better deals available to you soon.

 

 

Not sure I 100% trust a site that doesn't know when to use fewer, though.

[jmak]

I was talking to my dad about this last week and apparently Martin Lewis' current advice is that if you're not currently on a fixed tariff, stick with variable.

 

Having said that, with Octopus you don't get tied in to a fixed rate, so you could sign up now and if it goes down, come back out again.

 

I'm already with them and looked at their deals just to get an idea. I found pretty much the same as you; current best fix is about 50% more than we're currently paying. The terms for our current "flexible" tariff is that they have to give you 30 days notice of a change in tariff and I haven't been notified yet, so I'm not changing.

 

How much of your usage is car charging? The Octopus Go tariff still gives 5p/kWh between 00:30 and 04:30. Over half of our bill is car charging, but I still don't have a smart meter, so can't get on that tariff.

 

Might also be worth considering their Agile tariff depending on when you use electricity.

 

Edit: I've just had a look at Octopus Agile and you don't want that at the minute! It's capped at 35p/kWh which it usually only his for a couple of hours a day. It's hitting the cap pretty much all waking hours...

Edited September 27, 2021 by jmak

[LeMarchand]

Yeah, I'm sure that last time I looked the fixed rate "premium" was nowhere near that different. Guess I left it too late!

 

Like you, I'm not "in contract" so can leave any time (IF there's a better deal to be had!). Guess I'll have to hope for the best.

 

How much of your usage is car charging? The Octopus Go tariff still gives 5p/kWh between 00:30 and 04:30. Over half of our bill is car charging, but I still don't have a smart meter, so can't get on that tariff.

 

Has Mav hacked your account?

 

Canna afford a leccy car (and don't have a smart meter as, AFAIK, Scottish Power are still fitting older ones).

[XiJ]

Yep too late to fix now. Bizarrely you’re better on a standard variable rate as the price is capped (not what you pay, what can be charged). The price cap is increasing in October - but you’ll still be better sticking with variable. And hope the spike reduces for April.

 

I’ve been lucky to fix in July - more luck than judgement, my previous fix ended and a fix sounded better for the small premium over winter.

 

If prices don’t decrease for the end of my fixed period, we’re screwed.

[Ditto]

I'm also on, or will be shortly, a variable rate with EDF following the collapse of ... can't remember their name, but the same company as @mikeprice was with. I meant to look for a new deal a few weeks back, but didn't get around to it. I'm not particularly a fan of nationalisation, but with something as fundamental as gas and electricity (and maybe we should add petrol/diesel?), I'm not sure it should feel like a lottery all the time. Water/sewage doesn't seem to have the same issues, although perhaps lacks competition, but on that point my prices seem to have been relatively stable over the last decade, but perhaps jumped more recently. I'm staying off politics, but there is some interesting economics to be looked at here.

[jmak]

 

 

 

Has Mav hacked your account?

 

Canna afford a leccy car (and don't have a smart meter as, AFAIK, Scottish Power are still fitting older ones).

 

Oops. Apologies - I misremembered.

[supportman]

Added a few grid tie solar panels this weekend, should compensate for any increases I hope.

[mikeprice]

I intend looking at solar panels again soon

Had problems last time with companies refusing to quote due to trees at the bottom of the garden - and one bloke who claimed it was impossible to install any - which was weird.

 

I think the time has come to try again and see if I can get a decent quote

[Sonic007]

I currently pay £114 dual fuel per month and my renewal is coming out at nearly £220 per month!

 

Way out my budget! Really going to have to do some digging to try and get a cheaper deal.

Edited November 26, 2021 by Sonic007

[Koldov]

Sadly my fixed rate tariff is up at the beginning of January (just in time for the really cold months when the OH will insist on the heating all day as she is working from home)!

 

I'm dreading what the choices will be when I come to renew...

[Sonic007]

Same as you.... Renewal in January.

I cant work out how Im going ot be able to afford double what I'm currently paying.

 

Might have to start buying candles and lighting a fire if it keeps getting this bad!

[LeMarchand]

I currently pay £114 dual fuel per month and my renewal is coming out at nearly £220 per month!

 

Way out my budget! Really going to have to do some digging to try and get a cheaper deal.

 

Ouch! Ours went up, but not by that much. That doesn't sound right at all. Good luck.

[Koldov]

Thing is, what is going to happen next year?

 

Are prices just going to increase ad infinitum...?

 

Due to my tariff ending soon my power company is asking if I'd like to renew now (obviously to a higher tariff) and lock in to 2023... which would be a good thing if prices are going to continue to rise...

 

Or do I wait until January when prices might have dropped and a better deal is to be found (which seems unlikely)?

[XiJ]

I currently pay £114 dual fuel per month and my renewal is coming out at nearly £220 per month!

 

Way out my budget! Really going to have to do some digging to try and get a cheaper deal.

 

You will NOT find a cheaper deal at the moment. Standard variable is best you’ll get.

 

Pray and try again next year is the only options

[jmak]

I heard a guy from Money Saving Expert interviewed and his recommendation was go to standard variable contact, but then look for deals in February or March, making sure you sign up for something before the price cap limit goes up in April.

[BOOT]

I've just set up a tent indoors and lined it with emergency blankets. Just using electric blanket for heating - working well so far.

[mavhc]

SMETS1 meters should be working with DCC now, migrations continue into 2022, but not really a problem any more

 

To date, more than 4.5 million SMETS1 meters have been

successfully enrolled on the DCC network, including 1.75

million previously ‘dormant’ meters which have had their

smart capability restored. The DCC have provided capacity

to migrate 550,000 installations a day.

 

https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/media/6421/21115_dcc_development_plan_v12.pdf

 

Fill every m^2 of space with solar panels in general, they're so cheap now. Shed roof, fences, walls

[LeMarchand]

Fill every m^2 of space with solar panels in general, they're so cheap now. Shed roof, fences, walls

 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/free-solar-panels/

 

£5k isn't cheap to most people!

[Koldov]

I held off on putting the heating on at home until I couldn't stand the earache anymore (no, not from the cold)...

 

I turned it on but have it limited by the thermostat (in the warmest room) so it only actually comes on when the room reaches a level (BELOW the temperature the A/C for the server room is set to here)! Still trying to determine the optimum temperatures to get the condensing boiler to condense as it is supposed to be money saving... but it's very difficult to actually tell.

 

I also turned the hot water down by about 5 degrees (which also hasn't gone down well with the OH)...

 

I'm quite a warm person so it doesn't bother me, but obviously for a happy wife/life... however, in all honesty what I did actually start to notice and think about is the actual house, rather than its inhabitants (but don't tell her that's the only reason I actually put it on).

 

All the information about money saving by turning off radiators and keeping doors closed in rooms you don't use doesn't really take into account the condensation on the windows and the damp/mould that starts accumulating in corners and behind furniture...

Edited November 26, 2021 by Koldov

[mikeprice]

We have dropped lucky - our green deal with Green Network Energy was trashed when they went bust - about the first ones in this cycle

EDF have really done well - put us on a tarrif that was lower than anything else

then transferred us to one of their deals just for people they got from the trasfer

then offered a fixed deal several months ago which took us from £78 to £101 - which seemed a big hike

but now it seems like the best possible deal

 

we were damn lucky!!!

 

in the future

 

$deity knows - probably solar panels and a battery - I would like to find a trustworthy local company that does them but all I get is sites that send your details to a load of companies that pay to get them

 

 

and last time I tried that I only got one person who refused to go further because of the trees at the end of the garden - even though I said they never shade the roof

and one who came round and said it was 'impossible' to install any because the roof is made up of 4 triangles

 

 

we eventually got a quote from a company - but it involved a battery they was weaker than a weak thing and a load of gadgets that just were 50% marketing and 50% fake science

 

so I gave up

 

 

must try again soon

[mavhc]

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/free-solar-panels/

 

£5k isn't cheap to most people!

 

That's to put them on the roof though, and install an inverter, batteries, etc. Adding more is cheap because you just put them up yourself, basically £1/W, and it should make from 0.75 to 1kWh per year. So after 5 years, profit. Probably last 30 years, so 6x return, that's before prices double/quadruple

 

£200-£300 each, buy one a month.

 

Solar panels get cheaper while buying someone else's electricity gets more expensive.

 

https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blog/home-solar-battery-cost-guide

[elsiegee40]

We have bitten the bullet with solar panels. Not quite signed on the dotted line, but that will probably happen next week. Had 3 quotes, got the roof surveyed by our preferred quoter (the mid price) and hopefully they’ll be installed in January.

 

Batteries are in short supply right now apparently. We will order one and they’ll fit as soon as they get hold it.

 

Don’t ask me the numbers. My accountant, aka Mr gee40, has done all the sums. He reckons that pay back would be in 7-8 years at current electricity prices.

Edited November 26, 2021 by elsiegee40

[Andrew_C]

I'd be doing it, if we weren't so close to retirement and moving. Will probably do it on next house as a priority - assuming the market behaves for us.

[jmak]

I did the figures about 6 months ago and it was a 10 year payback. Down to 7 years now. With ASHP (electric heating) and one EV, likely to be two in less than payback time, I can't get enough panels on my roof to cover my usage so I'm looking at https://rippleenergy.com/ shared ownership windfarm. The return isn't quite as good, but the advantages are that you can start small with monthly payments so you don't need capital to get going, you can take your investment with you if you move house and you can buy as much as you want (subject to their capacity).

[mikeprice]

We have bitten the bullet with solar panels. Not quite signed on the dotted line, but that will probably happen next week. Had 3 quotes, got the roof surveyed by our preferred quoter (the mid price) and hopefully they’ll be installed in January.

 

Batteries are in short supply right now apparently. We will order one and they’ll fit as soon as they get hold it.

 

Don’t ask me the numbers. My accountant, aka Mr gee40, has done all the sums. He reckons that pay back would be in 7-8 years at current electricity prices.

 

How did you find potential installers?

 

I have tried in the past but everything seems to go a one of those middle man type websites that forward your details onto a proper company - probably for an unreasonably large fee