Energy suppliers

In December we used 9% less electricity and 6% less gas than last year. We paid £40 more, paying over £200 in a month for the 1st time.
Bulb on standard rate, 20.5p on electric and 3.9p on gas. Plus standing charge and vat.
 
DOH!, It's just dawned on me, why my Leccy bill has increased over the last year or so [ embarrassed ].
Our Smart Japanese Bidet Toilet has constantly been heating its water reservoir to a preset temperature 24/7 :eek:. No :poop: :ROFLMAO:
 
williamalex1 said:
DOH!, It's just dawned on me, why my Leccy bill has increased over the last year or so [ embarrassed ].
Our Smart Japanese Bidet Toilet has constantly been heating its water reservoir to a preset temperature 24/7 :eek:. No :poop::ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Can’t you load your bathroom schedule into a timer?
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
I pay about £110/month on my current fixed rate dual fuel deal with British Gas. The deal end 26th Jan at which point I will go onto their Standard Rate (whatever that might mean or cost they don’t say).

Meanwhile they are trying to get me to sign up for their current best deal dual fuel fixed rate - they estimate that would cost me £3081/year. That’s just INSANE.

I’m not biting…I’ll risk the standard rate as that will be capped…but god only knows how the poorest will be able to afford increases anything like that…bottom line is that they wont be able to afford it. What to do…

The best indicator of a civilised and caring society is how well it looks after it’s poorest and most vulnerable. Well I suggest that if it is mooted by the gov that taxes may have to rise; scope and reach of power benefits are extended, or such as UC levels increased to subsidise power for the poorest, we are about to see how caring we are as a society.
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Very similar. I currently pay £108 per month combined on my current Fixed rate deal, which ends on 22nd. I was paying a bit more too on a Green Futures plan, in total it cost me £1136 last year. They are trying to get me to sign up to another fixed rate plan estimated at costing me approx £2100 based on last years use. Whereas, falling over to the standard rate is estimated at £1351. They precede the change options with this lovely snippet

With so much uncertainty in the global energy market, prices will be affected for a while yet. So although our Standard Variable Tariff may appear cheaper right now, that won’t last for long. It’s likely that it will increase by hundreds of pounds when the industry regulator, Ofgem reviews the energy Price Cap in February. That’s why fixing your energy tariff now is a wise move in the long term.
Click to expand...

So switching to the new recommended fixed term plan, payments increased by circa 85% (if I've done my math right) is NOT going to increase my payments by hundreds of pounds..... :unsure::unsure:

I appreciate it's a gamble, but I'm gonna stick for now.
 
need_my_wedge said:
Very similar. I currently pay £108 per month combined on my current Fixed rate deal, which ends on 22nd. I was paying a bit more too on a Green Futures plan, in total it cost me £1136 last year. They are trying to get me to sign up to another fixed rate plan estimated at costing me approx £2100 based on last years use. Whereas, falling over to the standard rate is estimated at £1351. They precede the change options with this lovely snippet



So switching to the new recommended fixed term plan, payments increased by circa 85% (if I've done my math right) is NOT going to increase my payments by hundreds of pounds..... :unsure::unsure:

I appreciate it's a gamble, but I'm gonna stick for now.
Click to expand...
What REALLY irritates me is that in the BG emails to me in which they try and get me switch to their best equivalent fixed rate with cost estimated as you say, based on last year of usage, they give me no indication of what the cost would be if I was on the standard tariff, or indeed if that tariff goes up by say 10% or 20% - or whatever OFGEM deem likely.

I will be able to pay any increase, though it won’t be painlessly affordable. But for many it will not be affordable. If I was being billed or paying by DD I might just not pay - maybe for a few months or every other month - build up a debt, then go to the provider and agree an affordable debt repayment plan. But what will be done for those scraping along at the moment, who are on pay as you go meters, the only way would seem to be less money going into the meter.
 
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SwingsitlikeHogan said:
What REALLY irritates me is that in the BG emails to me in which they try and get me switch to their best equivalent fixed rate with cost estimated as you say, based on last year of usage, they give me no indication of what the cost would be if I was on the standard tariff, or indeed if that tariff goes up by say 10% or 20% - or whatever OFGEM deem likely......
Click to expand...

Let's hope the OFGEM increase is only 10% or 20%, that's significantly better than 85%....... They do mention that the cost difference between moving to the new tariff and staying on standard in my email. There's also the £75 get out fee if you sign up to the fixed rate at a stupidly more expensive rate, but want to get out because the standard rate doesn't go up as much....

This tariff is £720.00 more than the default tariff - but we’ll keep your rates fixed until 31st January 2023Fixed price energy until 31st January 2023**Exit fees of £75.00 until 14th December 2022
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need_my_wedge said:
Let's hope the OFGEM increase is only 10% or 20%, that's significantly better than 85%....... They do mention that the cost difference between moving to the new tariff and staying on standard in my email. There's also the £75 get out fee if you sign up to the fixed rate at a stupidly more expensive rate, but want to get out because the standard rate doesn't go up as much....
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Octupus have zero get out for a fix which I think is brilliant , mainly because if the prices fall you can switch once a month to them but if they rise you can stay put

I'll be staying with mine as long as they honour the price

Decided it they fix me for another year same price (which they have been doing for auto renewals ATM) I'll increase my payment by £40 a month to build up a healthy reserve then if the prices rise next year I can keep paying that same rate for 2-3 years without having to increase it to stabilise the payment a bit rather than just a £100 a month increase off the bat
 
need_my_wedge said:
Let's hope the OFGEM increase is only 10% or 20%, that's significantly better than 85%....... They do mention that the cost difference between moving to the new tariff and staying on standard in my email. There's also the £75 get out fee if you sign up to the fixed rate at a stupidly more expensive rate, but want to get out because the standard rate doesn't go up as much....
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I didn’t have that in my emails…and no mention of get out fee.

Anyway…as my Mrs works from home in a garden studio, for which heating is expensive as just an electric convection heater, i am going to increase quite significantly what she claims for home working as tax relief, sorry HMRC and taxpayer, a bit less tax from my Mrs to cover increased cost of electricity.
 
I came off a fixed deal towards the end of December.

I was paying £108/month duel fuel, using the same amount of fuel I would be paying £154/month under capped prices. I've been offered a new fix at £211/month.

Decided to move to the cap for the time being but hoping my usage will fall as my youngest has just moved out.

Interestingly my electricity usage went down from 7,000 MWh per year to 5,000 MWh when my eldest moved out.
 
Advice needed please from the resident expert(s) as I’ve looked at the old Martin Lewis email but still a little confused. My fix deal with shell energy ends at the end of the month (as does my mums with edf)….what do folk suggest doing?
 
Larry long dog said:
Advice needed please from the resident expert(s) as I’ve looked at the old Martin Lewis email but still a little confused. My fix deal with shell energy ends at the end of the month (as does my mums with edf)….what do folk suggest doing?
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This is the latest advice I could find from him....

Martin Lewis: 'Do nothing' with your energy supply and go on to the price cap when your deal ends - there's nothing cheaper available (moneysavingexpert.com)

Basically do nothing still seems to be the way forward.
 
I guess this is the key bit of his message If you're offered a fix that's no more than 40% costlier than your current price-capped tariff, it's worth considering - especially if you value budgeting certainty
 
Ah found it…I was so shocked I hadn’t looked far enough down my email…and this is what BG tell me…annual, with cost assuming same usage…
  • Existing: £1310
  • Best Equivalent: £3082
  • Standard Variable: £1919
So even SV sees me an increase of ~50%, that’s an increase of £50/month…before increased price cap…grim. The BE is…well…??
 
I deleted my recent email but I can remember they recommended signing up for a fix which would be 2K more a year than we pay now. I think not!
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
Ah found it…I was so shocked I hadn’t looked far enough down my email…and this is what BG tell me…annual, with cost assuming same usage…
  • Existing: £1310
  • Best Equivalent: £3082
  • Standard Variable: £1919
So even SV sees me an increase of ~50%, that’s an increase of £50/month…before increased price cap…grim. The BE is…well…??
Click to expand...

Think mine must have been similar.
 
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