Fixing the price of Gas & Electric

[grahamw48]

Hopefully a re-nationalised water utility would be able to learn from past mistakes.

[Michael Parnham]

I received an email today from British Gas which I thought I would share:-

Why are we putting up prices?

There are a number of costs that make up an energy bill that we don’t directly control. Unfortunately, these costs continue to rise.


1. The costs of implementing government policies designed to make Britain more energy efficient are going up


2. The nation’s grid (the pipes and wires that transport and deliver energy around the country) requires a major upgrade. The amount we have to pay to use this network is being increased to pay for this upgrade


3. The price of energy remains volatile and is increasing in a number of key markets


Not increasing prices would mean our investments in Britain’s energy future – keeping the lights on and gas in the pipes for years to come – would be at risk. This means that, for a typical British Gas customer, Standard gas prices will rise by 8.6%*, and Standard electricity prices will rise by 10.8%* from 23rd November 2013.

B]Avoid future rises with Fix & Fall November 2014[/B]

Sign up to Fix & Fall November 2014, and fix your gas and electricity prices at our new Standard rates until 30th November 2014. It means your prices won’t go up, and if our Standard prices fall, your prices will too. Please see below for Fix & Fall November 2014 terms and conditions.

Alternatively, with our Fixed Price March 2016 tariff you can choose to fix your gas and electricity prices until 31st March 2016, at a premium of 0.28p/kWh for your gas, and 0.84p/kWh for your electricity (including VAT) compared to our new Standard rates as at 23rd November 2013.

To fix your prices with Fix & Fall November 2014, sign up by 23rd November 2013


B]Other important changes you need to know about[/B]

All of the energy companies have been working with Ofgem, the energy regulator, to make energy pricing simpler and easier to understand. As a result we need to make some changes to your account:

[B]Clearer energy pricing[/B]
Currently you are charged two different rates for your Standard tariff, a higher rate for the first few units of energy you use and a lower rate for the rest. You will now be charged one rate for all the energy you use, plus a daily standing charge‡‡. The difference this will make to the amount you pay will vary depending on how much energy you use. For an estimate of what the new standing charge and the other changes will mean for you, use our ‘Energy Changes’ calculator.

Simpler Direct Debit discounts
Your Direct Debit discount will now be for all the energy you use rather than on a capped amount. This discount will be included in your unit rate. If you do not keep up your Direct Debit payments new terms will apply. Customers paying by Direct Debit are charged a lower unit rate than customers paying by Cash or Cheque. If you do not honour your Direct Debit payments, we can require you to pay by the higher Cash or Cheque unit rate - meaning you will lose your discount and your prices will increase. The difference between Direct Debit rates, and rates for customers paying by Cash or Cheque, is set out in your new prices. We will give you seven working days notice before changing your payment method.

Hi Rosie,
I for one will stay with BG, after all when the price rise storm has settled BG will still be quite competitive compared to all other utility suppliers!

[Dedworth]

Hi Rosie,
I for one will stay with BG, after all when the price rise storm has settled BG will still be quite competitive compared to all other utility suppliers!

Michael - The reality is that the big six energy suppliers idea of competition is to always be within a couple of percent of each other, you only "gain" by entering a fix deal at the right time

[Michael Parnham]

Michael - The reality is that the big six energy suppliers idea of competition is to always be within a couple of percent of each other, you only "gain" by entering a fix deal at the right time

Correct!

[gWaPito]

I believe having secured more votes at a general election than any other Prime Minister in history he has earned the right to give his opinion. Lets not forget he was the last tory to actually be elected Prime Minister.
I agree with his idea but only in the short term.
In the Long Term I would be looking to renationalise all the utility companies and the Railways.
It just requires a leader with some balls to admit that it was a mistake to sell off the countries infrastructure to the money men.
The Railways will be easy to do but the rest will be a bit harder.
As far as I'm concerned the City of London institutions owes this country a big favour. It's pay back time and we should be stripping their profits and using that money to buy back what is ours

That's a laugh Marco. ...not least of Major's achievements was to consign his party to it's heaviest defeat since 1906, and to opposition for 13 years. ..hardly qualifies him to advise others

[Dedworth]

Correct!

Scottish Power have just realised that competition isn't good for business and have rejoined the fold upping their prices by 8.6%

[andy222]

And Cameron is panicking because he knows he is going to lose the next election. Having said that he didnt win this one outright.

[grahamw48]

Lord please help us all, and produce some MPs who are capable of running this country in the interests of the ELECTORATE !

Who cares which party ?

[andy222]

Let me know if you find one Graham.

[gWaPito]

That's a laugh Marco. ...not least of Major's achievements was to consign his party to it's heaviest defeat since 1906, and to opposition for 13 years. ..hardly qualifies him to advise others

Thanks for the rep Marco

[bigmarco]

That's a laugh Marco. ...not least of Major's achievements was to consign his party to it's heaviest defeat since 1906, and to opposition for 13 years. ..hardly qualifies him to advise others

You cant blame him for all of that. The tories had been in power for a long time and people wanted change. As for being in opposition for 13 years you have to say people didn't like what was on offer and even Cameron couldn't secure a majority.

[andy222]

It wouldnt surprise me if someone looked a bit deeper into this there might be some shady characters with lots of shares in the big six.

[Arthur Little]

Scottish Power have just realised that competition isn't good for business and have rejoined the fold upping their prices by 8.6%

... so much for Pensioners' Winter Fuel Allowance!

[Dedworth]

... so much for Pensioners' Winter Fuel Allowance!

Arthur you can always hope for Salmond to step in with a vote catcher - free energy for Scottish pensioners

[grahamw48]

Oh dear...looks like the locals up there were more impressed with Labour in the By-Election.

[Dedworth]

Oh dear...looks like the locals up there were more impressed with Labour in the By-Election.

The choice was rock and a hard place

[Arthur Little]

Arthur you can always hope for Salmond to step in with a vote catcher - free energy for Scottish pensioners

Aye, ... that'll be right!

[Dedworth]

I've just switched energy suppliers and ditched my Npower fixed till March 2017 deal. Gone with

Gas - Daligas Fixed for 12 months projected annual saving £240

Electric - Scottish Power Fixed for 12 months projected annual saving £189

The dual fuel deals with one supplier are a scam so I've moved away from that, also getting £30.00 cash back doing it through Energylinx via TopCashback

[stevewool]

I've just switched energy suppliers and ditched my Npower fixed till March 2017 deal. Gone with

Gas - Daligas Fixed for 12 months projected annual saving £240

Electric - Scottish Power Fixed for 12 months projected annual saving £189

The dual fuel deals with one supplier are a scam so I've moved away from that, also getting £30.00 cash back doing it through Energylinx via TopCashback

Thats a great savings

[London_Manila]

I've just switched energy suppliers and ditched my Npower fixed till March 2017 deal. Gone with

Gas - Daligas Fixed for 12 months projected annual saving £240

Electric - Scottish Power Fixed for 12 months projected annual saving £189

The dual fuel deals with one supplier are a scam so I've moved away from that, also getting £30.00 cash back doing it through Energylinx via TopCashback

Thats interesting i always thought that dual fuel deals were the cheapest option

[Dedworth]

Thats interesting i always thought that dual fuel deals were the cheapest option

So did I but there are plenty of statements around like this (uswitch) :-

Dual fuel
However, dual fuel deals are not always cheaper, so the best way to check your options is to run a dual fuel comparison of energy suppliers in your area. In fact, in 2014 research suggested that more and more homes could save money by taking on two single fuel deals, so it's always worth running an energy comparison before making a decision.