Eye-watering October price cap increase suggested.
Energy market analyst consultancy, Cornwall Analysts, has predicted that the October price cap increase, which has been largely expected to be around the 24% mark, is likely to be more like 47% when it comes into effect!
This, on top of the April cap increase, which is going to affect approximately 22 million customers, with those customers on default tariffs paying by direct debit seeing an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year (difference due to rounding). Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.
This prediction has led to increased levels of concern for those people who may have to decide between heating or eating this coming Winter, with many energy customers already wondering how they are going to afford the April price increases, never mind a similar increase again in the Autumn! It's suggested that energy prices may mean an average yearly bill of around £3,000 per household, becoming a shocking reality!
Martin Lewis of Moneysavingexpert.com addresses the price rises (before the October prediction came out) in the video below, and maybe of interest, although in the video he does reference an Eon price fixed offer; however, this has now been pulled, leaving none of the leading energy suppliers offering ANY fixed priced energy deals at present.
Prepayment meter hack.
Energy customers using non-smart prepayment meters pay the energy price fixed at the point they top up, so if you have extra cash you can afford to use to top up your account before the energy prices increase in April, top-up as much as you can, as you won't be charged the new energy prices until the credit has been used up.
This will only work for customers that don't have a smart meter; if you do have a smart meter, unfortunately, this won't work as these use the current energy cost rates.
The hack works on all non-smart meters for all energy companies, apart from Scottish Power.
Energy meters can typically hold up to £249 for electricity and £999+ for gas (depending on the meter)
National Meter Reading Day - 31st March 2022
It's recommended that everyone takes a gas and electric meter reading on the 31st March, get a picture on your phone and make sure to submit it to your energy supplier (it may be busy, so you may not be able to submit that day, Hence the photo to keep as evidence), by taking this reading, you are ensuring that any units used before this date will not be charged at the higher rate! It's best to be prepared!
Any way you look at it, energy customers can expect some really tough times over the coming months, so now is a great time to teach the family the importance of energy-saving methods, such as making sure they don't leave lights on unnecessarily, etc.
Information correct as of 03.03.22