Prepare for January energy price hike

He's been advising everybody to fix for a very long time.

I'm still shocked at how many are still on the price cap.

Latest predictions.

As always, check out the MoneySavingExpert Cheap Energy Club. It isn't a club but a tool which finds you the best deal. All you need is your annual usage numbers.

Apparently 65% are on the price cap currently.

The Martin Lewis programme last week certainly made very scary viewing as it
looks very likely that we’ll be facing a substantial increase in January, possibly as high as 25%.

And just to cheer us up some weather forecasters say the El Niño effect could lead to a very cold winter here.
Having said that, others I have read think mild, wet and windy conditions are more likely!

Whatever the weather, the heating will be on in the winter so I’m sure we will fix when our current fixed deal comes to an end shortly.

If you can, insulate, insulate, insulate. With triple glazing, our large flat doesn’t fall below 17 or so, without heating. Only put it on when the family come, they prefer a warmer home than I. Each room has a separate thermostat, too, so only theirs is heated at night.

Graphite

He's been advising everybody to fix for a very long time.

I'm still shocked at how many are still on the price cap.

Latest predictions.

As always, check out the MoneySavingExpert Cheap Energy Club. It isn't a club but a tool which finds you the best deal. All you need is your annual usage numbers.

Except that we have no idea what our annual usage is.

We bought a rundown house last summer that had no insulation anywhere and was as leaky as a sieve. We spent the winter insulating it and chasing the drafts and have done more over the summer. The next year will give us a baseline figure to work to.

Surely however much you use, it will be cheaper to be on a tariff than on the price cap if the rates do actually go up by 25% M0nica?
I really hope they can sort out the Middle East by then, but it’s not looking likely, so I’m expecting the higher prediction to be right- it will be a big bonus if it isn’t.

If you can, insulate, insulate, insulate

Only snag with that is, my DH did that.

When very hot weather like this summer, we cant get the heat out.

My mid '70s end of terrace loses most heat through its walls, I think, and nothing much can be done about that. The "no fines" concrete walls were originally meant to be 12" thick to provide insulation but cost cutting meant that the actual width is only 8". They are neither solid nor cavity. They are a thin outer solid shell filled with a loose rubble. The cold also comes up through the concrete floor so I have carpets which helps.

I have put insulation in the attic, of course, and after I bought it I replaced the ancient glazing with the best I could afford at the time. I have also replaced the exterior doors. In the winter, my windows are augmented by a layer of bubble wrap (held on with sticky tape!) and I have curtains and thermal liners - all of which definitely help keep the heat in. The windows are disproportionately large, probably to keep the building cost down.

I was on a fixed price for a while but it ran out in June and the replacement on offer wasn't particularly good. Luckily I am used to low room temperatures in Winter. The 62F I am happy at is luxury after the 57F max that could be achieved in the living room of a previous rental property, or the chilblains (early frost bite) I had every winter night as a child.

My fixed price deal ends next month and the best I can find to replace it is already approx 25% higher. Goodness knows what it’ll be come January.

Luckily I have solar panels + battery (though not much good in a Scottish winter) plus it’s a well-insulated new build which helps keep costs down but it’s a concern. There are people worse off than me, of course, which is awful.

Our fixed price ends in December, I can switch it earlier with no penalty and am researching.

fancythat

^If you can, insulate, insulate, insulate^

Only snag with that is, my DH did that.

When very hot weather like this summer, we cant get the heat out.

We have windows that keep the heat out. Floor to ceiling, not sure how they do it and they were pricey but certainly worth it. It can be 30 outside but the inside layer is cool to the touch.

Just looked up how: by blocking heat transfer. Really work.

Aely You should push your thermostat up to 65 degrees. Anything below that is likely to be dangerous for your health.

I appreciate you may not be able to afford it, but walls of houses like yours can be insulated. We have a taste for very old houses. Our last house the bedroom walls were about 4 - 6 inches thick. We had insulated plaster board installed on the inside of all the upstairs bedrooms. You can also install external insulation. I have seen a number of houses that have that done.

As I said, I know it may not be possible for you to insulate the walls of your house, but it can be done.

I am becoming quite anxious about this.

The fixed tariff we're on ends next month and I've been searching different sites to see what's on offer.

The majority of tariffs seem to be 'Variable' ... they go up and down according to the price cap set by Ofcom. There are very few 'Fixed' tariffs available at the moment, and they all have very high exit fees of around £200 with a 2yr contract ... the 1yr contract works out more costly.

If this doesn't change when our tariff ends I think we'll go onto the Variable with our existing supplier at around 3.9%, which will give us time to keep looking and is the smallest increase with no exit fees, until I can get a fixed Tariff before the predicted hike of 24% coming in January.

We have always paid more to our estimated DD throughout the year to build up extra to help cover the winter months, but these up n coming increases will completely wipe that out, and at the prices being quoted it looks like we'll be paying around £500 to £700 more a year. It's shocking, how do they expect people to pay this huge increase when the cost of living is already worrying everyone.

We have a heated throw downstairs and electric blanket on our bed. We have no heating in our bedroom and the kids still living here don’t have their rads on at all at night.

There are 12 month fixes to be had. I managed to nab a low standing charge 12 month fix with Octopus (which is part of an Ofcom trial) which will see me pay around the same or a little less this coming year.

That is no longer on offer but there are still 12 month fixes to be had. The standard 12 month fix from Octopus would have seen me paying just under £3 a month more, an amount that most people could save anyway with a bit of economy.

Even Octopus has now introduced exit fees (£50 per fuel) because of market volatility (thank you Trump) but as it is highly unlikely wholesales will prices will go down much in the foreseeable future (see MSE chart), unless a customer gets some bad service that makes them want to change supplier then what’s the likelihood of having to pay an exit fee?

You can switch penalty-free in the last 49 days of a fixed contract.

The problem is Blue54, that ‘they’ in this case is the USA and Iraq, and I would think that the last thing on their minds is the cost of heating for homes in the UK. Our government may provide more support, and put more pressure on the energy companies to reduce their profits, but there is no way that will or can offset such huge increases for everybody.

Our fix ends in December. So perhaps I should terminate it now and look for another fix.

Martin Lewis:

WARNING. Those with months to go on energy fixes should be very careful about fixing again early. I've had many questions on this so let me explain...

1. You'll be ditching what is likely a very cheap fix to lock in at a much higher rate, and may have to pay an early exit penalty to do so. Fix rates today are the most expensive they've been for 3 years.

2. There is no guarantee or logic that says fixes will be more expensive in 4 months time than they are now. The fact the price cap is going up is irrelevant to the rate you can fix at... as the price cap is set based on a long time-lag where the rate you can fix at is based on that days wholesale prices (it literally moves daily).

It is very possible that today's high wholesale rate is just a short-term spike and in a couple of weeks or months you'll be able to fix at cheaper rate. Equally if the crisis in the Middle East worsens then wholesale rates could get even higher and fixes will be even more expensive.

As what will happen to the rate you can fix at is a total unknown, personally I'd take the bird in the hand of sticking on your existing relatively very cheap fix as long as you can, especially as it covers much of the high user winter period.

Only those who are incredibly risk-averse (or on crp old fixes -a comparison site will tell you how your old fix compares to todays) should consider ending their current fix to lock in again and having to pay an exit penalty to do so now.

I really don't understand why the energy companies are not obliged to provide gas/elec at the best price for everyone anyway.
Its going to be the people who haven't the capability or understanding to shop around for deals who are quite likely to be the most vunerable.