My energy bill will still quadruple even if I put a jumper on?

[verdantverdure]

AIBU to think that even if I participate in this weird new “wear warm clothes in wintertime” trend, shut doors, buy draught excluders, buy Oodies, buy thermal curtains, and buy a £300 air fryer my energy bill will still quadruple.

Especially as most people wete already doing all or some of that.

Nothing short of turning the heating off is going to make much difference is it?

(Although of course I'm trying.)

After all, the money saving expert himself, Martin Lewis, says this isn’t something individuals can fix on their own , and it would be pretty arrogant to think I know better than him.

The "Put a jumper on" advice doesn't help British businesses at all does it?

What do you think?

What you pay now may not be for what you use now

In many cases you pay more than you use in summer and less in winter - it averages out and means your bills are constant which is easier to manage for many people

Wearing a jumper is not a new idea!

I think this is the point. People suggest ‘just put a jumper on’ as though this will somehow keep usage down to last winter’s costs.

Most people dress warmer in winter, it’s not the magic beans it’s made out to be. A lot of the suggestions are things people are already doing (bar spending £££ on ‘energy efficient’ items, if they haven’t got the money upfront to do so)

It's about unit price which doesn't have to correspond with your DD. That would be your actual usage cost. DD is usually higher for various reasons. Sometimes it is a pisstake though and even Ofgem investigated them.

I don't think I know any people like that, but how lovely for them that they never had to worry about it before. Let's hope they catch up with the rest of us before wintertime.

The reporting of the price cap has me confused and I should know !

@midgetastic

Does that mean our bills are not likely to go higher than they are now, then? If we are already over paying?

Have you considered star jumps? I'm sure I've seen someone suggest them as a means of keeping warm.

The advice seems to be the same for both.

How are people only just realising this?! There's going to be lots of people in for a MASSIVE shock if they think it's all you can eat.

@Bubblebubblebah

Ah ok. I'm even more confused now tbh.

I may just have to wait for the surprise of the bill in October 🙈

I think at some point it tips over from miserable to dangerous. No matter what anyone does, when the rate is 5x or 7x or 9x what we've been paying the last few years their bill is going to quadruple at some point.

They should let you know if the dd and when it is coming up way before surprise.

They are already in that deep end and are not capped so their rises are different. Of course advice was to fix, but many weren't really able to and now the quotes are 5x more

Depends how much you are overpaying

My direct debit has gone up more than it needs to but it will hopefully build us up a bit of a cushion for the coldest months. The kast thing we need is a £700 monthly bill in January.,

In November last year our Gas unit rate was ~4p per kWh. As of October 1st it will rise to ~15p. It's an increase of a factor of ~3.8, or ~380% or almost quadruple.

The Standing Charge will have gone from ~25p to 28.5p per day, increasing by a factor of ~1.15 or 15%. Much less of an increase than above.

This is why cutting back on Gas usage (typically heating, hot water and little on gas hobs) can have a big impact on reducing your bill, whether you're on a fixed or variable tariff!.

Electricity unit charge will have gone from ~20p per kWh to 53p (x2.65 or 265%), and Standing Charge from 23p to 39p per day (x1.7, 170%).

It's not as dramatic a difference but, still the lions share of the increase is in the per unit charge. So cutting back on your energy usage WILL make a difference to how much your you pay for energy.

Let's hope they see some of these threads and don't find out the hard way.

@Twooforjoy heated throws are brilliant for working from home and cheap to run

Why can’t people see sarcasm - weird trend. I thought that was funny.

Why do some people still not get that fixed tariff is not like a all inclusive buffet. It’s a price per unit not a free for all.

Bangs head.

Yes me too! We've never had our heating set above 19' (lower last winter due to inc costs, even lower this year) we've always worn dressing gowns, fluffy socks, blankets whilst watching tv etc, don't leave lights on.

I thought it was common sense, clearly not!

A lot of the new fixes are not on a good rate compared to yours if you fixed before October 2021. They're probably in a rate at least three or four times what you're paying.

Because of the way the energy market is set up, with electricity prices pegged to gas prices that might not even be enough.

Not the first time I've seen this idea on here. How widespread is this misconception? How many bills are sky high because people think a fixed price means usage doesn't affect the bill?!

@RancidOldHag It astonishes me how many things you have to buy to be thrifty these days.

Is that just Octobers and you'll have to almost halve your usage again in January?