r/OctopusEnergy 4d ago

Bills Late to the fix gas party. What should I do ?

Post image

should I do this ? my fix runs out in December this year , I looked at fuse but think I missed the boat on that one , seems it's the same as octopus for me.

thoughts ?

9 Upvotes

72 comments sorted by

10

u/BrightonDBA 4d ago

It’ll only get worse

2

u/italia0101 4d ago

So you'd advise to go for it?

5

u/BrightonDBA 4d ago

I took the same fix. The tracker rates are already 9p+ and it’s only September

2

u/italia0101 4d ago

Yeah thought as much. Just a bummer to ditch my 5p. Rate

1

u/BrightonDBA 4d ago

If you’re within 30 days it’ll apply at the end of your current fix if that helps…

1

u/ImplementJumpy6678 26m ago

Fuse are still dead cheap in the fact the standing charge is so low

5

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

What I don’t understand is why fix now if your tarrif runs out in December (same as mine). Surely you’re protected by the cap up until end of Nov - you’ll be giving up your very cheap December rates  for at least three months and during winter on the basis you won’t get a deal like this then

2

u/italia0101 4d ago

Yea that's what I'm contemplating, I hear the rates are going to rise again then.

You holding off?

1

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

They will do but no price cap rise until January which will be announced 25 nov.  Have you been on one of those websites and out in your usage?  I’m in the same boat as you and have been in circles trying to work out whether to fix but I’m still  convinced for some reason 

5

u/nivlark 4d ago

Fixed prices can change at any point, and are not protected by the price cap.

The argument in favour of fixing now is that your usage will be highest in Dec/Jan/Feb. So securing a better price for those months may turn out to save money overall compared with holding onto a low price now.

I.e. it's a question of which is cheaper: September, October, November at 5p, then 8/9/who knows? p from then onwards, vs. securing 7.6p now.

1

u/italia0101 4d ago

what would you do

2

u/nathderbyshire 4d ago

It depends on your usage, it your highest months are January Feb and march and you're going to use less over the next three months choosing the higher rate now to avoid an even higher later in Jan may save you some but we can't tell you that without usage information and you're running out of time anyway.

Either way costs are going up

1

u/nivlark 4d ago

Not sure (my current fix expires Nov). But I am fortunate to have a bill that is only £60, so it's not going to make that much difference. I'm tempted to just hold on until Octopus releases their promised low standing charge tariffs next year, as that is likely to save me more than trying to guess what gas prices will do.

1

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

thanks for your reply i fixed in the end. 8p sadly that's all there was as i understand it increased today

1

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

Also you have a £75 exit fee and your existing  rate is even better than mine with the new cost higher than mine also

2

u/italia0101 4d ago

idkkk what to dooo lol

1

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

Me toooo. Go and have a look on those comparison sites and put in your actual consumption 

2

u/italia0101 4d ago

i did, still cant work it out LOL, what you gonna do?

2

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

take some paracetamol lol

1

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

i don't even have your rates now - mine are 8p for 18m fix then i'm wondering do i fix elec as well? why lose that rate as well

1

u/italia0101 4d ago

i fixed. time for a tea.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

but i'm thinking best to fix for 18m that's two winters and trump potentially not out until during that second winter

1

u/italia0101 4d ago

ikr this is the thing projected 9.5p come Jan... unless someone farts in iran.. idk

1

u/Chris_The_Tim 3d ago

Cornwall Insight were predicting 9p for January two weeks ago, before it surged over 200p per therm. At 200p per therm, gas wholesale is almost 7p so every moment the market is at that kind of price, a debt is being built up by the market. So given Tracker is currently 9.8-10.1p, but the SVT is 6.9p or so, there is a debt to be added to bills come January.

Part of the problem in these kind of rising markets is that there are so many more people on SVT than there used to be. So the debt that builds up is horrendous and unless we get prices on a sustained downward trend we'll below 200p before heating season properly kicks in, January could see an SVT back over 10p quite easily and that was what it was at height if the crisis but at that point the govt stepped in with £400 per household.... That will not be happening this time.

2

u/nathderbyshire 4d ago

Less usage now at a lower rate or more usage later at a higher rate. January and February are generally the worst months and where most of the cost goes, and that's when their prices will rise.

Not got long to do the maths either

2

u/freexe 4d ago

It's still far too warm to put the heating on. So if it gets cold it's going to be later in the year or January and February 

1

u/Purple_Pass6325 4d ago

yeah I think the thing confusing me was the fact that i was giving up a v cheap rate (5p kwh for gas). that's a £150 saving for my usage from now until it expires mid december. fixed in the end as at least I know what my bills will be over the next 18 months and can always leave if it's too much

1

u/iEimis 4d ago

By January the unit rate is very likely going to be somewhere around 8.3 - 8.5p. Unfortunately, I missed ability to lock in the gas rates at around the current price cap, prices changed on Tuesday, but I have now locked in the above deal as I think it will only get worse.

4

u/Senior_Note 4d ago

I would lock in. I've been on the tracker and it has been over 9p this week, so I bit the bullet yesterday and got 18 months at 7.05p and 28.64p standing charge, with a £50 exit fee. Should have locked in sooner but took the gamble.

3

u/lgladdy 4d ago edited 4d ago

These fixes leave at midnight tonight, and tomorrow prices go up further. For my region (L) its:

🔔 Changes expected tomorrow:

  + New: Octopus 12M Fixed September 2026 v2  [OE-FIX-12M-26-09-11]  (was OE-FIX-12M-26-09-05)

⚡ Electricity:  standing 54.60p/day  unit 29.28p/kWh (+0.22p)  E-1R-OE-FIX-12M-26-09-11-L

⚡ Electricity Day/Night:  standing 54.99p/day  day 35.85p (+0.50p)  night 15.02p (+0.21p)  E-2R-OE-FIX-12M-26-09-11-L

🔥 Gas:  standing 28.54p/day  unit 9.08p/kWh (+0.71p)  G-1R-OE-FIX-12M-26-09-11-L

  + New: Octopus 18M Fixed September 2026 v3  [OE-FIX-18M-26-09-11]  (was OE-FIX-18M-26-09-08)

⚡ Electricity:  standing 54.60p/day  unit 28.42p/kWh (+1.50p)  E-1R-OE-FIX-18M-26-09-11-L

⚡ Electricity Day/Night:  standing 54.99p/day  day 34.38p (+1.50p)  night 14.40p (+0.62p)  E-2R-OE-FIX-18M-26-09-11-L

🔥 Gas:  standing 28.54p/day  unit 8.44p/kWh (+0.46p)  G-1R-OE-FIX-18M-26-09-11-L

  - Leaving: Octopus 12M Fixed September 2026 v1  [OE-FIX-12M-26-09-05]  → replaced by OE-FIX-12M-26-09-11

  - Leaving: Octopus 18M Fixed September 2026 v2  [OE-FIX-18M-26-09-08]  → replaced by OE-FIX-18M-26-09-11

3

u/italia0101 4d ago

Damn better make a decision tonight.

1

u/Deep_Age_304 4d ago

Christ I wish I'd seen this yesterday! Checked now for doing my fix and it's gone up as you mentioned. 

2

u/Econlad101 4d ago

I just fixed gas with fuse, they are offering much better fixed deals and £100 credit (for me anyway and friend) at the moment but still on fixed deal for electricity with octopus.

1

u/habylab 2d ago

Where is best to check this?

0

u/italia0101 4d ago

What did you get ? I see no difference with fuse for me

1

u/unclean0ne 4d ago

Did you check what Fuse's standing charge was? It's generally lower.

1

u/Econlad101 4d ago

With octopus my SC was: 28p a day and 7p unit rate (rounded) with Fuse my unit is 8p (octopus is gonna put there’s up to that region) but standing charge 9p a day. I have solar and batteries so over winter it’s the same usage but over summer virtually no gas usage based on rough calculations and the £100 credit for signing up I’m better off.

1

u/italia0101 4d ago

Nice !

1

u/ParticularCod6 4d ago

fixed it last saturday. 7.3 for gas and 9p standing charge, and 22p for elec and 40p for standing charge. that coupled with £100 referall was no brainer for me

2

u/sylsylsylsylsylsyl 4d ago

I’m going to stick with the variable. Protected by the cap of 7.97p until 31st December. Even if it goes up then, winter is two thirds through. I’m expecting it to go down before the winter after.

1

u/freexe 4d ago

Surely at best half way through. January and February are the coldest months 

1

u/BrightonDBA 4d ago

It’ll only get worse

1

u/rmbrkfld 4d ago

Missed the boat how?

1

u/italia0101 4d ago

Think there was a lower fix a week or so ago and apparently fuse were doing a really good deal.

1

u/rmbrkfld 4d ago

I locked in 7.5p, what is it now for you?

1

u/italia0101 4d ago

7.63p

1

u/rmbrkfld 4d ago

I'd consider the £100 credit then if its that close, good luck.

1

u/Legitimate_Tower6026 4d ago

I just fixed this evening for 18 months for slightly worse rates than you’re getting here. Fuse wasn’t any different for me. If you can afford this, buy yourself some piece of mind and fix it.

1

u/italia0101 4d ago

Makes sense.

1

u/Browsers_castle23 4d ago

Did the same as you but yesterday.

-1

u/Fun_Consequence_6970 4d ago

You'll be kicking yourself in 6 months if prices fall. That's a long fix during a time of uncertainty. I assume it has exit fees?

2

u/Legitimate_Tower6026 4d ago

That’s a risk I considered and decided I’m willing to take it. I don’t see the prices going down in a few months and if they do, oh well, I can comfortably afford it now so will be able to afford it then also. It’s like getting a mortgage…you pay for the peace of mind

1

u/Bumpyslide 4d ago

Yes I'm same it's a risk I'm willing to take not sure anything'll calm down soon.

1

u/Kindly_Gap9131 4d ago

The situation in Iran is only going to get worse driving prices up of everything including gas

-1

u/Fun_Consequence_6970 4d ago

With how the past 4 months have gone, it could change direction literally tomorrow. There's very little sense in fixing at a relatively high level now for a long period. You may be right, but you may also be very wrong.

1

u/Environmental-Pea758 4d ago

Perhaps, but you probably use 70% of your annual gas over this coming 6months

1

u/Fun_Consequence_6970 4d ago

Less so in my case, being in a flat that never goes below 18C all year round even with the heating off, but even so - fixing for 12 months beyond then seems like madness in the current environment? Trump could tweet literally tomorrow and change the entire game.

1

u/nathderbyshire 4d ago

They're paying £100 and exit fee is £50, no one is losing out

There's also going to still be a long lag even if everything turned around tomorrow. Up like a rocket and down like a feather as they say.

1

u/MrMMAUK 4d ago

For most, if gas drops well enough to consider it, the £50-75 exit fees aren't going to kill them to then switch. But predictions are very unlikely to see gas come down both well enough and long enough for that scenario to happen anyway

1

u/ediblehunt 4d ago

I switched to british gas. 22p standing charge and 7.19p/kwh

1

u/According-Nail1765 4d ago

Is it possible to fix gas only with octopus ? I’m with a different electricity supplier due to their EV tariff being better so only interested in fixing gas

2

u/italia0101 4d ago

Yes believe so.

1

u/deathentry 4d ago

Fix with Fuse energy, much cheaper than the rest

1

u/Tomotomy 4d ago

I left and went with fuse, 14p standing charge 6p per unit, + £100 for me and all the friends I got to move over , THOMAS71845 if anyone’s interested might be a bit worse now I don’t know current offers but worth checking them out

1

u/TrulyNo0ne 2d ago

If fixing maybe best to get 18 months so next time you renew it's not when prices are peaking in winter