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Can anyone help, seems to be all over the news this morning, Ive read so much and still so confused. I
Know it’s been going on a while now but I feel like I should be doing something.
My current Gas & Electric is on a variable tariff
Gas 7.43 kWH - Standing Charge 27.22
Electric 28.29kWH - Standing Charge 47.88
The fixed ive been offered is
Gas 18.90 kWH - Standing Charge 27.22
Electric 67.49 kWh – Standing Charge 47.88
I have no idea what im supposed to do (If anything). Any help from someone that understands it a little more would be appreciated.
Current and the next "cap" rates are here:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-if-en...ap-affects-you
Given that the current expectation is for the cap to rise by at least 30% next Jan I would say that the fix you have been offered is well worth considering.
Even though the fix offered is way beyond 30% more?Originally Posted by JumpersforGoalposts
Confusing times
These are extraordinary rises, the only benefit is that the standing charge is barely changing, so using less is the key.
You've been quoted what seems to be well above the price cap, which is confusing. I would ring them.
It depends how long the fix is and what happens next year. Currently it is being suggested the cap will rise by around 30% at each of the next three quarters to be approx double the current level in a year.
If this fix is for a year then in effect the rate is 30% more than the cap for the first three months, then approx the cap for three months, then approx 30% below the cap for three months, and finally approx 60% below the cap for three months.
The most important consideration is that it gives you certainty about the charges you face for the next year.
The cap only applies to variable tariffs, not fixed tariffs.
the price cap is for people on a variable rate
If you choose to switch to a different rate there is no cap and it will be a lot higher
What a nightmare for vulnerable people this all is
Of course it's not the same as what the poor people of Ukraine are going through but its still so worrying 😢
It’s a 12 month fix with Octopus that’s been offered. Martin Lewis said if it’s just above double it is probably worth it bitumen it seems a lot more to me. Hardly an exciting choice either way.
Double the current cap is a "no brainer", but now they've announced the new cap (from 1st October) you aren't going to get anything like those rates at the moment.
I would ask how long this fix is available for and consider taking it in a month's time if possible.
Oh for the days when our gas , water and electricity was just 1 company each
And the bloody phone !
Privatisation has introduced a lot of choice (under the guise of increased competition to benefit consumers), but it also means a lot of hassle sorting through the options!
It's going to be sorted ..
If you can't pay write now to your provider on the basis of not being able .. advanced communication keeps the fines away legally ..
You don't have to remain with your existing provider, use a comparison site like uswitch and see what switches are available, check Martin Lewis site, until recently he was saying there is not much point in fixing now, but that may have changed?
Do you know what your annual usage is for gas and electric, you'll need that to compare?
I fixed before all this in Sept 21 until March 2024, that was the longest deal I could get at the time.
Now there is little choice as it is so volatile I don't think the providers are offering a decent fixed rate.
If it was nationlised or had remained as so , we would still pay the wholesale price , plus the cost of the workforce, pensions structure costs , somewhere it cost someone or something..
The government will create a long term subisdy cap via suppliers to benefit consumers, discusions already on going .. however it will require payback ..
Nothing is for nothing in this take energy for granted world , to be fair we could all stop some waste..
I find it hard to believe all these companies offer the consumer better value
I think privatisation was a way to save money in the short term ......for the government ....and make huge amounts of profit .....for the companies and shareholders .......
The ordinary member of the public ? .....bottom of the list and totally ripped off
Piss off Thatcher
Are you working for the Conservative party ?
Fair point well made!
ah okay, thank you.
Privatisation works if there is a competitive market.
The further you get from a "perfect" market the less efficient privatisation becomes.
Some markets are never likely to be a perfect market.
The rail network - only one company runs the trains on the tracks near me. Every 20 years or so they bid for a franchise, but that is an isolated amount of competition and the rest of the time it is an inefficient market.
The utilities are a slightly more compicated situation - I think there is pretty good competition in the front end of the industry - the customer facing bit that basically only reads your meters and gives you your bills. That offers very little value to the country though.
The behind the scenes parts are - like the trains - on long franchises I think and there is no competition. This is where you could make a real difference to people. This is what Ed Milliband was talking about when he was Labour leader.
It's not real 'choice' though. It's the identical product with - in normal times - thousands of different options, or more accurately, permutations, to choose from. For those acting diligently and getting the lowest tariff and changing when needed, it's fine. But for folk who aren't too clever with IT or might not even have a computer, they'll end up paying over the odds. It's these people who subsidize those who shop around. If everyone opted for the cheapest tariff available to them the energy companies would go bust.
All you are choosing between is who gives you a bill and takes your money for exactly the same gas or electricity. It is not real choice, it is a veneer of choice.
Yes that side of things is run with very low margins typically, but the majority of the issues are with the rest of the market.
This is a very good summary I think.
I think a lot of it comes down to the amount of shared infrastructure needed to make the system work. So roads for example could never be privatised (en masse) due to the shared maintenance and infrastructure needed.
Inter city Buses on the other hand, which obviously use roads, have been privatised well. There is genuine competition, and the idea of a single nationalised National Express seems absurd. Car manufacturing also. There is no need for a nationalised body.
Water and utilities are different perhaps. They need enormous infrastructure and have to serve the national need. I would say electric and gas have worked well so far, and water perhaps, but we are learning that they have not been investing as well as they should.
For me though, the issue is not one of public v private. As fo today, The european wholesale price of gas is up 575% year on year. The UK price is up nearly 400%. Governments cannot control that, they can only mitigate against it, and that cost will have to come from somewhere whoever owns the companies. France may be reducing the price, but it will come from using money elsewhere which is ultimately raised in taxes.
The UK is knocking Ł66 a month off every bill (my electricity will essentially be free this winter as a result) so intervention can occur irrespective of ownership.
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodities
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