AIBU to ask: Is anyone actually fixing their fuel prices?

[FrankWelker]

Posted on here for traffic
Is anyone actually fixing their fuel prices at these exorbitant prices? We have been quoted over £699 per month for dual fuel with Scottish Power.
Or are people just not fixing and going to use less??
Really stuck with what to do!

What are the rates for that fix?

I'm fixed until December, I also wish energy companies would talk in usage prices not meaningless direct debit amounts.

We could have EK 00.0 - ESC 00.0
(Electricity kwh, electricity daily standing charge) and same for gas.

My current fix is

EK 25.8 - ESC 23.76
GK 6.68 - GSC 26.10

Would be much simpler to compare actual prices if they were all written in that format.

Hope I'm not getting muddled with all of the various tabs but this, I think

@SwedishEdith

That's not a bad offer IMO...

Thanks a brilliant way to put it - and a great deal!
Good energy fixes are going to be the new stealth boasting!

Yes look at unit price compared to existing and the variable rate price not the massive scary number. I mean it's still scary mind.

@LarkspurLane

Male36, Has recent 5 year fixed mortgage and 2 year fixed energy bills (16.02 kWh elec, 5.08 kWh gas) seems similar.

I fixed in July above current cap but under predicted next cap. It’s still bloody expensive though so planning to use less this winter to keep overall cost down. Also there is no penalty to leave so if there is some significant downward movement I can go back onto flexi.

I renewed my fixed rate with Octopus for another 2 years back in December. On the forecast page it mentions an amount to be credited each month from October. I'm assuming that's because of the government £400 rebate being applied?!?

@Headabovetheparakeet

Yep, Electricity standing charge = 48.15 p/day
Elec price per unit = 45.18 p/kWh

Gas standing charge = 27.22 p/day
Gas price per unit =11.52 p/kWh

@eldora yes x 3 to your q's, although the standing rate tends to be very similar between companies.

We've not had an offer to fix (Bulb), but won't anyway. We're going to cut back usage as much as possible and hope for a mild winter 😬

We took a fix start of this month but are low users so went from under £100 to something like £225. With the government top up the price is affordable.

4 bed house and a family so no idea how some people are getting average quotes in the mid or even high hundreds. Turn the bloody heating down and use less appliances.

I just hope the government do not try to do something stupid and offer to pay thousands towards bills. They need to encourage reduced consumption not reckless abandon. Not to mention the country is flat broke.

Yes I fixed in July, price per kwh and standing charge was 'only' double what my previous fix had been and Martin Lewis advised it.

lots of people don't understand the difference between direct debit figures and actual price per unit but even more don't understand what the fuel cap is (nor did I until I read MSE) it's not actually an annual cap. If you use twice what they project you will then you'll pay over the £6000 annual cap. It's a cap on (I think) the unit price and the annual cap is based on average usage, so if you run a hot tub and tumble drier 24/7 you won't be capped at the average rate you'll still pay what you used. I think.

Just went on to EDF and they've pulled all their fixed deals 🤷 I was considering it a month ago but didn't want to fix and suddenly a bail out or some sort of sensible approach appear from the govt. I think that might have been wishful thinking in hindsight though!

The fix we were offered is more than our mortgage. Nope.

There's no exit fee on my fix so if things sort themselves out I can get out

No I won't. Octopus wrote suggesting I alter my DD to £280 per month from £130 which I've done.
Tbh can't really afford to pay much more. 😱

Seriously, to many people, please just read a small bit of info from Martin Lewis.

No one is being offered a set monthly cost fix!! If the fix is £600, what they are offering you is a set cost per kw of energy. Based on your own usage last year that averages out at £600 per month. That is your own usage.

You can still fix and use less energy, it isn’t either/or.

We fixed for a year in June at approx 40% over the current price cap. I’m glad I did because Cornwall Insight are now saying 82% rise in October, 19% in A
Jan and another 4% in April. Fuck knows what we’ll do next summer when our fix ends though.

No fix here, we’ll just deal with what comes and cut usage back to the bare minimum if things get tricky. Today I’m being offered a fix at £430 per month. I’m currently on the variable tariff, pay £190 and am £600 in credit (I’ve let it build up deliberately) It’s utter madness.

No it's not.

the fix is on the RATE you pay pKw

say you fix at 25p pKw. & you use 100 KW you'll pay £25.00

if the STANDARD tariff rate is 40p pKw you'll pay £40.00

If it's 15p pkw you'll pay £15.00

plus the daily standing charge.

the fix you can get now is probably a few pence more pKw than the variable, but by the time the October rise is applied, it won't be, let alone the one in January.

the DD amount is irrelevant. You can do monthly readings & pay that.

people fixate on the Direct Debit amount, they need to compare the pKw rate!!

Who would fix at this? I feel like I missed the window to fix but every time I dither it goes up again.

this is what the fixed rate would be compared to current

I honestly have no idea how you think UNDER £100 per month on gas pre the next price cap for the average family is at all achievable.
People spending more then than are most likely not having sauna parties every night. I paid £70 per month as an average over the year last year so pre price cap and that is for a small 2 bed flat with 2 adults and a baby. Heating was running the bare minimum of an hour or 2 in the morning and a few hours in the evening most days throughout winter and obviously not at all in the milder months, plus showers and very shallow baby baths.
I genuinely don’t understand how it’s possible for you to spend only £25 more per month for a 4 bed house with more people, I really don’t. My usage is quite sensible.

The country is absolutely not too broke to deal with this crisis, total rubbish. If the average household has an energy bill of £5k a year by January inflation will go through the roof, spending power across the country will grind to a halt, hospitality will be crippled, never mind the literally millions of extra people pushed into fuel poverty.

I totally ignored Martin Lewis’s advice regarding not fixing, I just knew he was wrong. We pay 32p a unit and 32p standing charge until Dec 2023, you just can’t get that now. We’ve also got solar panels which helps immensely. I can’t believe the prices people are being charged.