Gas and electricity price increase

[Ohsugarhoneyicetea]

My supplier went bust recently and I have been moved to Octopus. I have just had their prices through and the new tariffs are:
Gas: 4.01p/kWh
Elec: 23.02 p/kWh

By comparison, what I was on with my old supplier was:
Gas: 2.494 p/kWh
Elec: 15.435 p/kWh

So the price has nearly doubled for gas and a third up for elec. And yet somehow this insane increase is being reported as an increase in the price cap rising by an average £139/yr

"The regulator Ofgem has increased the price cap on standard and default tariffs today from £1,138/yr to £1,277/yr for a typical dual-fuel household"

Except in practice my £1500 per year bill will now increase to nearly £3000 if my consumption stays the same. I live in a typical household by size, so why is this being reported as a £140 increase when it is actually a £1400 increase? Can anyone explain this and why there is not more outrage over what is happening?

And how much are you paying p/kWh? Are these prices typical?

And why is inflation being reported as 3% where what I am seeing is food up 20%, gas & elec up nearly 100%, other bills at least 5% - where on earth did 3% come from?

Are those the fixed tariffs or the variable ones? Fixed tariffs are all horribly expensive just now, but the variable ones, while a bit higher than before, shouldn't be anywhere near as expensive. Just stay on the Octopus variable.

Martin Lewis explained it:

But Martin reiterated his advice not to take up those offers. He said: "If you do nothing you automatically move to the price cap tariff. What you need to understand is currently energy providers are being forced to sell energy at substantially below the cost price and they do not like it.
"The standard variable tariff is the cheapest tariff. Now, what I'm hearing more and more of is that energy firms are sending letters and communications urging people coming off fixes to fix again because that's what we've always done before.
"They do not want you to be on the price cap tariff because the price cap tariff is at below cost and they want you to pay more money, understandably.

If you were on a fixed rate then it would have been much lower than the current cap. As a result of your supplier going bust you've lost that fixed rate and you are now on the capped rate with your new supplier (and you wont find another suppler taking on new customers at that price).

My supplier has also gone bust and those rates are roughly what I'm paying too. Yet to find out what the Direct Debit is going to be.

The flexible Octopus tariff, which is the variable you go on if you don't fix a deal, is:

Electricity: 20.24p/kWh
Gas: 3.78kWh

The price cap has risen by that. Previously though we all had options to get fixed rate deals at well below the cap, the only people at the cap where generally those who didn’t bother shopping around.

Now the increase in wholesale costs means that those low cost fixed term deals are no longer available and for now (hopefully short term!) we are all going to end up paying at the cap.

You need to be more specific about the new tariff. Are those price cap rates?

My supplier went bust, I was on the cheapest fix available at the time. I managed to fix in with Eon just before all the cheap fixed rates went. I'm now paying roughly the price cap charge and my monthly payment went up by 50%.

The increase in the price cap is what is reported as £140 based on average con3, but if you were on a lower price fix before and have higher than average consumption, then it will be a much larger increase.

I used to pay £80 a month, now it's £132, so up from around £1000 a year to around £1500 a year.

Agree re inflation, some things are going up much higher than inflation and the products and services they include the measurement of inflation don't reflect reality.

My gas & electricity have both increased over the summer. The electricity by quite a bit on each consecutive bill. And we haven’t even turned the heating in yet...

I’ve also noticed the same at the supermarket. My weekly bill is increasing!

My new rate for gas is 4.197 p/kWh plus 26.11p/day standing charge

and for electricity is 21.697p/kWh plus 25.66p/day standing charge.

The suppliers are allowed to slightly adjust the per kWh rate and the standing charge but they have to arrive at the Ofgem cap total of £1277 for the "typical household" . This is what makes it so hard to compare rates and why no one is paying £1277 a year.

I was listening to a report on the radio last week from the WHO and they were saying that globally in the last year, food prices have risen by 30%, so it's not just the UK that is being affected, but the same is happening world wide.

What’s the standing charge on top of that too? Ours is 30p a day for elec and 15p a day for gas
I’m with Shell, mine is 18.144p for electricity and 3.944p for gas.
Ours have also been around this price

Octopus say Ive been moved onto the lowest rate available, it is the variable one and is lower than any fixes they are offering. Im just amazed there isnt more of an outcry over this, its a huge huge increase for the average person. I think a lot of people dont realise maybe because their fixed rates havent ended yet. The standing charges are 24.12p/day and 26.11p/day - Im less concerned about that as its only about £180/yr - whereas the rest will be about £3000 which is utter madness.

It's hard to tell. I've just been moved to OVO Energy and they don't show what the rates are on the bill.

They combine gas and electric in one bill and don't itemise them separately either, which smells strongly of Scam to me. Why are they so keen to hide things?

I'll be moving supplier at the first opportunity.

My supplier went bust ages ago, ages to be told who the new supplier is and we still have no direct debit amount or rates. I’m nervous in this no mans land, it’s over a month now using an unknown cost

I think you must have missed the uproar! It’s a major issue and a massive worry, so many people are going to end up in fuel poverty because the wholesale cost of fuel has risen so much (which is also why so many fuel companies have gone under recently)

Those rates are totally normal atm as wholesale energy prices have risen massively over the past year.

All tariffs have to be under the price cap, which will no doubt rise again in April 2022.

It shocking isnt it. Mine went bust over a month ago and I only just got the rates today, not that I can do anything about it.

Energy co's have always tried to obscure the actual rates you are paying. Dont know how they get away with it. All that rubbish where they say you will save this much on this tariff - its all just a smokescreen to hide the actual rates being charged.

I didnt miss the uproar. But what I did seem to miss is 'your bill is now double' - didnt see that anywhere.

Wait until the price cap increases again next April

has bulb gone pop yet? I've not heard anything but they've been on the brink a few times.

I’ve done some digging, I think my rates may change even more than yours

We are with together energy and already pay 3000 a Yr due to disabled children meaning the washer and drier are often on and the house must be warm for them as they cannot maintain their temperature.
Our fix runs out next month and they have been kind enough to offer us another one! Nearly 800 pounds a month. So over 9 thousand pounds a year ! !
It is madness ! Needless to say we have declined .

The problem is, if you decline then what? No one is taking on new customers you cannot move, so we don't have any choices.

@Ohsugarhoneyicetea the advice is absolutely not to fix. It will be higher than the price cap. The cheapest tariff available for those whose fixes have run out is standard variable. If you fix you will pay more. If you don't agree a new contract or a new fix you will move to standard variable.