Should I take a fixed energy price deal?

[Kentucky Fried Panda]

First one came in the mail and the next one was a knock on the door from npower.. Seems they're offering fixed price deals a lot at the moment trying to tempt new customers, should I take one...?

[jmb]

How long a contract do they impose?

I was offered a good fixed price deal (1-3? year) last year for gas, and have been kicking myself for not taking it - we were just in the process of switching to the greenest sources we could find. Interestingly, it came unsolicited after I registered my company, and they thought they could supply my business - when they found out I was running it entirely from home, they said they could still offer me the deal.

I probably couldn't take such a deal now because we're expecting to move to Ireland in a few months.

[RenewableCandy]

My mum told me "never buy on the doorstep". That advice may prove passe/ if localisation happens so drastically that you actually know the person on the doorstep who's trying to sell you something. But then all bets about electricity supply would be off!

[Kentucky Fried Panda]

Anybody who turns up on my doostep usually gets told to tell their story walking. It's one of my pet peeves.

British gas' deal is until 2011. I didn't ask about the N power one. Mainly because he had rang my doorbell and then made notes in his little clipboard... grrrr

[emordnilap]

I probably couldn't take such a deal now because we're expecting to move to Ireland in a few months.

You're the second person on this forum to say they're moving to Ireland in as many weeks! I think the drawbridge is about to go up (oh alright, except for energy decline aware people of course). What region, jmb?

[jmb]

You're the second person on this forum to say they're moving to Ireland in as many weeks! [..]
What region, jmb?

Wicklow, Kildare most likely.
If the other person you've seen say this is Shira, that might be no coincidence.

[Kentucky Fried Panda]

I lived in Waterford for a year. I can say it's a great place to visit, but I didn't want to live there.

[Totally_Baffled]

I have fixed mine with BG, might as well, going to get mugged anyway, might as well be consistently mugged!

[contadino]

There's an advert on English radio by e.on (I think) who offer a capped rate - as in if their retail rate drops below the cap, you pay the retail rate. Best check the small print, but maybe worth a gander...?

[JonB]

There's an advert on English radio by e.on (I think) who offer a capped rate - as in if their retail rate drops below the cap, you pay the retail rate. Best check the small print, but maybe worth a gander...?

I've gone with this. Capped to Oct 2009.
Deal now withdrawn. BG offering fix to 2011, but not
sure of details. PO or not,
I've always found Martyn Lewis very useful on general
money saving:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilit ... lectricity

He advises to wait at present, as the big 6 are cooking up new deals.

[johnathome]

I got the phone call from BG and i pressed her to tell me what the KWh price was, this is fixed till 2011.

Elec was 25.317p for the first 125KWh per quarter and then 12.015p for the rest, Gas was 7.622pKWh for the first 670PQ and then 3.872p.

My current provider, Southern Electric are charging

Elec 13.30p for the first 728KWh and then 8.83p after.
Gas 3.110p for the first 2286KWh and then 2.210p for the rest.

I realise SE haven't put their prices up yet but still it's a massive difference at the minute and even when they raise prices it still won't cost as much as BG.

Incidentally when she was on the phone sporadic clapping broke out, she explained that everytime someone comes back to BG they clap

[snow hope]

Surely it is time the pricing should be changed to be the more you use the more expensive it gets. Why is it still the other way around? Those figures from BG don't sound good.

[JonB]

Surely it is time the pricing should be changed to be the more you use the more expensive it gets. Why is it still the other way around? Those figures from BG don't sound good.

Pricing is that way around as standing charges are rare these days.
So they cover it from the first lot of gas etc. used. They calculate it so that they will cover the charge, then flat price.

Maybe there's an option for someone to set up a green tariff where you pay more the more you use? Can't see it though - how would you budget?

[biffvernon]

Incidentally when she was on the phone sporadic clapping broke out, she explained that everytime someone comes back to BG they clap

Seriously sophisticated marketing - canned applause as background in the call centre.

Yes, the topsy turvey pricing structure is an anachronism. A socially responsible government would insist of the first several units being very cheap so that the poor don't die of cold and further units being more expensive so the rich don't stay rich and hot.

[emordnilap]

Incidentally when she was on the phone sporadic clapping broke out, she explained that everytime someone comes back to BG they clap

Seriously sophisticated marketing - canned applause as background in the call centre.

Yes, the topsy turvey pricing structure is an anachronism. A socially responsible government would insist of the first several units being very cheap so that the poor don't die of cold and further units being more expensive so the rich don't stay rich and hot.

This is something I thought of years ago - basically, your first x number of units of energy should be free (average requirements), then the next number of units double, the next double that and so on. Basically I suppose it's a recipe for energy rations, which I've always thought should be the way things are anyway.

One of the stupid feudal downsides of the capitalist, free market system we've all voted for - the more money you have, the less you're required to spend per unit of whatever. Same with usury: the more money you have, the more you acquire.