With global financial uncertainty and spiralling energy cost sending chills down the spine all summer, many people are taking any steps they can to ensure that the lights and the heating stay on and that the energy budget is affordable. There have been big headlines and most energy providers have been offering fixed price enregy tariffs and capped energy deals. But, are these deals all they’ve cracked up to be and are they the best means of getting the best energy prices?
As usual, the story is always somewhat more complex than first meets the eye. In the middle of summer a barrel of oil would have cost $144 whereas now you can expect to pay around $60 a barrel. Whilst the oil producers are trying to keep prices artificially high by limiting production serious work is being done by lobbyists and government officials alike as they try and avoid the potential crisis of energy shortages/poverty.
Fixed Price Energy
In July fixed and capped tariffs were the big news and certainly pushed abutton with many consumers worried about the winter ahead. Though most providers will not pass on a reduction in energy cost to consumers if you have signed up for a fixed tariff. Although contractually bound it is still possible to leave a fixed tariff by paying the cancellation fee (normally between £20-50), it has never been more worthwhile to compare energy prices as the difference in unit cost for a fixed tariff and the newly reduced variable package may quickly swallow the cancellation fee if the difference is that great or your usage is high.
It is also worth investigating the discounts that are avilable if you go paperless and deal with your energy supplier online or by direct debit. Though the last word should always be conservation not consumption. Any pound spent on insulation will pay itself back many times over as compared to pounds spent heating your home, and the government now has many schemes available to help households improve their insulation.
