FAMILY DAY OUT – FULLY CHARGED OUTDOORS 2021.

On Saturday I went to the Fully Charged Outdoors live show in Farnborough. It was a really lovely day with lots of electric vehicles and innovative energy products to look at. It was really quite inspiring and highlighted lots of great ideas to go electric whilst reducing your C02.  💚

A big thank you to Octopus Energy who had a really great setup. They had two stands and lots of staff available to chat. One unit was a mock house setting with lots of ideas for going electric and then they also offered a recharge zone which my kids absolutely lved!! There were free snacks, drinks, and most importantly some great Octopus branded freebies which my kids were very impressed by.

If you get a chance to visit in 2022 I would highly recommend it!! Thank you to everyone who made this year’s event possible! Lovely to meet Jordan from Myenergi. Her company sponsored the kid’s zone and it was great fun. 10/10 Jordan!! My daughter is still wearing her Myenergi headband 4 days later!!  Thank you!

Taking the kids to @FullyChargedShw. Here’s what to expect. 🥳 My girls enjoyed it and felt extremely welcome on-site. They enjoyed seeing all the 🚗 . Hopefully when they are older they’ll realise what @bobbyllew and everyone involved has done to impact change. 🌍⚡️💚 #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/bX0PpT7WHM

— Sarah Go Green💚 (@sarah_go_green) September 4, 2021

IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR ENERGY BILL 

For the last few months, I have been talking to anyone who would care to listen about fixing their energy prices.  There has been a perfect storm brewing and supply is outstripping demand throughout Europe.  A cold winter and restricted gas supplies from Russia have seen energy prices rise day after day! This has really worried me as energy is something we can’t live without and winter is quickly approaching.

I watch energy prices in the UK very closely and almost every day I have watched fixed deals creep up. The same tariff, the same amount of energy use, and each day the quotes get higher and higher! It really is scary.

In June I called my mum and demanded she reviewed her energy tariff. She was quite reluctant but thankfully she spent a few minutes clicking through her Octopus account and changed to a new fixed rate. The same tariff has now gone up by around £10 a month. That translates to £120 a year for exactly the same amount of energy!

Update: You can read my updated blog post, Should you stick or fix before the April 2022 price cap here.

To fix or not to fix your energy price?

At the moment the Octopus Flexible tariff is considerably cheaper than the fixed-rate deal. The price has been the same for the last few weeks. The tariff price hasn’t gone up. Whereas the fixed rate has increased several times over that period. It now stands at a whopping £21.37 cheaper a month than the fixed rate!

The issue is will the Octopus flexible tariff go up when the October energy price cap rises? I suspect that it will but at the moment customers have to make the decision if to stick or twist. I would urge you to fix your deal if you need to strictly budget your fiances! You can always switch away in the spring when I suspect prices will drop. I worry it’s a way of getting people to select a flexible tariff knowing they will end up paying more or switching to a higher rate fixed deal when the price jumps up BUT I could be wrong!

Your decision I suspect will be down to your need for consistent pricing. If you are on a budget like me you may feel more reassured that your price is fixed for two years. Regardless of the energy market, your energy price will not rise any further. If you decide to take the Flexible Octopus tariff and grab the discounts now while you can just remember you can hop onto a fixed tariff at any time. Octopus makes this really easy to do! You just email hell@octopus.energy and they sort out your new tariff very quickly. Just consider that the fixed rate by this time may be higher than it is today.

If you opt for the 24 months Octopus Fixed tariff just remember you can switch away from this too. Prices may well drop in the spring so it’s important to review your tariff and if there’s a cheaper fixed-rate just swop over to that!

Energy Price Cap

The energy price cap only affects the standard variable tariffs. So fixed deals are not capped to protect the consumer. Prices are changing almost daily especially fixed deals. Just remember that if a company is shouting about being lower than the price cap this doesn’t mean the fixed deal!!

Just in case you stumble upon this blog and fixed deals have gone up further just remember that the variable tariffs such as Octopus Flexible cannot go higher than the price cap rates per kWh. So it may be worth considering the flexible Octopus tariff if you are happy that they are a lot lower than the fixed-rate deals being offered for the next 6 months.

EV drivers fix your deal now!!!

If you have a smart meter and own an EV I can’t urge you strongly enough to grab the great deals that are currently being offered with either Octopus Go, Go Faster, or Intelligent Octopus tariffs! I can’t quite believe these prices have stayed the same for so long! Once you switch to any of these tariffs the price is fixed for 12 months!

I wouldn’t currently recommend the Octopus Agile tariff as wholesale energy prices are so high. If you have solar panels and want to export energy, however, it is still well worth considering!!

Additional information – Why energy prices are rising so rapidly.

Europe Faces Energy Shock – Bloomsberg

Maximum Prices Rises – Guardian.

If you would like further information you can read my full review of all Octopus Energy tariffs including up to date prices on my comparisons page.  It is updated daily and keeps an eye on the wholesale energy market. Knowing if and when to switch and fix your energy tariff in the current climate is really important, I hope it helps!

Keep safe and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message. 💚