THE ENERGY PRICE CAP DROP COMES INTO EFFECT IN OCTOBER 2019

Last week Ofgem, the energy regulator for England, Wales, and Scotland announced that annual energy bills will go down by £75 on average for 11 million households on standard tariffs and by £25 for customers who pay for their gas and electricity upfront. The new caps will be £1,179 for default tariffs, including standard variable tariffs, and £1,217 for pre-payment meters.

You don’t get something for nothing!

It’s a phrase, my father used quite often. If something seems too good to be true there is usually a catch! In this case, the price cap drop is a definite win for the consumer who makes no attempt to shop around for a deal. By doing nothing their energy bill will drop BUT the price cap has dropped because fuel prices have dropped and Ofgem, quite rightly is protecting the consumer especially those stuck on a standard rate due to energy debt.

The catch here is that by simply shopping around and coming off a standard rate many customers could save more than three times the price drop.

Stephen Murray, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket warns that “Crucially, there are more than 100 cheaper tariffs available to consumers in the market today. That means someone switching today could secure a deal that delivers three times the saving the price cap offers while protecting themselves from this rollercoaster of price fluctuations every six months. It’s a no-brainer.”

WHAT DO I SUGGEST?

At this point, you would expect me to recommend Octopus Energy and a  specific tariff but although I could I’d just say get off a standard rate and simply switch! Switch to a deal, tell your friends and your family. Help older relatives make a simple switch to a deal that gets them off the standard rate.  The price cap protects those who should be saving far more!

As a mum with a young family every penny counts and although time is precious and I know we don’t have time for all money-saving ideas this is one that just takes can’t be ignored.  It takes two minutes to switch and you will put more money in your family’s pocket.

If you can switch to a green energy provider like Octopus you will be saving both the planet and your pocket. This time there is no catch. It really is a win, win switching to renewable energy.

We switched from British Gas in spring 2018 to the Octopus Energy.  I did loads of research before switching and we finally agreed on a fixed tariff for 12 months. We wanted to make sure we could budget following a house move. We are now on a slightly different deal where the prices fluctuate but we still have the super green tariff.  We don’t have a smart meter. We don’t have solar panels (although they are on a wishlist) and sadly we don’t own an electric car. (just a bike 🙂  For these reasons, we are sticking with a simple and cheap green energy deal rather than one of the smart tariffs for now.  This may change as I would love to try and use most of our energy off-peak. We have a young family so it isn’t always that easy but we are seriously thinking of giving it a go!

 

IF YOU ARE ON A STANDARD ENERGY TARIFF TAKE TWO MINUTES TO STOP OVERPAYING. YOU WOULDN’T KNOWINGLY OVERPAY FOR ANYTHING ELSE.

Posted by Sarah at www.www.octopusreferral.link