My contract is up for renewel. Need help please.

Keep your eyes on the fixed tariffs on offer they change all the time, and should be cheaper after April 1st.

How long is left on your current one? You are aware that the rates for both fuels wiil go down on April 1st, even existing ‘fixed’ rates will go down.

To answer the other question, when prices went daft last time I went to Standard Variable until the offered fixes got reasonable again.

(I've got till August on my current fix so am looking forward to the April rate reductions and will worry about the predicted July increases as and when I'm closer to renewing).

This April I will need to renew.

Wasn't aware they are going down, I thought everything is going up due to the war.

Just recieved a letter from them, saying they have just introduced new fixed tariffs. When they only just released they won't be due to war etc. 

Thank you for the insight, so the best thing to do is wait till April hits and go from there? 

Will you exit and renew also? 

The fixed rates currently (29 March) on offer are pretty eye-watering, but it rather depends on how much you value certainty about your price for the next year or two. I don’t know whether the rates you have been offered include the reduction due on 1 April or not, but that should be clear from the letter you got. If they don’t, you should be able to deduct 3.34 p/kWh from the unit rate for electricity and 0.31 p/kWh from the rate for gas.

When I looked just now, the one-year and two-year rates were almost exactly the same; the only difference was in the standing charge for electricity, 0.02 p/day more for the two-year fix - that’s less than 7½ p a year! - and, of course, the higher exit fees (1-year £50, 2-year £95 for each fuel), so any deal you found during the fixed term would have to be quite a bit cheaper for it to be worth switching. 

The Simpler Energy quote you may have received may be the one for April-June, but it’s widely expected to be a lot higher after that because of the global increase in energy prices (oil started trading this morning (30 March) at the same dizzy heights as it has the last two Mondays, over $116/bbl). What the situation will be after 1 October this year is anybody’s guess.  

Remember that the 01-01-2026 Standard Variable rate you see now will also be going down on 1st April.

In your situation I would wait at least a few days until 1st/2nd/3rd April to let the April changes take place, and then look at the fixed rates being offered compared to the Standard Variable after the changes.

As Firedog says the current fixes on offer do seem high.
(I’m also guessing though that if you did take one today it would go down on 1st April like all other current fixed rates will do).

I had noticed this week that OVO put a new set of fixed rates out on 26th March, and then changed them to a new slightly higher set on 27th March.
It just shows how fluid things are at the moment when the fixed rates on offer change daily like that.

Yea the current rates are way hight than the one I am on

So its best to wait?

Reposting: “… it rather depends on how much you value certainty about your price for the next year or two.” No-one knows what will happen from 1 July - even British Gas have stopped guessing. With our glass half empty, we just assume that variable tariff prices will increase dramatically.

You guys seen the new fixed plans they have just released? Its not amazing but better…

Would you recommend getting on one of them now? 

I don’t think you can expect recommendations. The future is so very uncertain, not just because of what’s going on in the Middle East. You’re seeing better rates today because an unprecedented government intervention required suppliers to cut them, even ‘fixed’ ones. That means we can no longer regard fixed-rate tariffs as having fixed rates! Look, too, at the standing charges. In my region, the SC for a 1- or 2-year fix is 10p a day higher than the current variable rate. Will the government do something to bring them down? If they did, would that also apply to ‘fixed’ plans again? Of course, nobody knows, so we all have to make our own choices. Some of us will do better out of them than others, and your choice could well turn out to be better than mine.  

The best I can say is that if my fixed plan was ending this month then personally I would go to Standard Variable for now and keep a close eye on the Cornwall Insight forcast and what fixed rates are being offered at anytime.

Then depending on how I think prices may go I’d make a decision early in June wheteher to fix again or stay on SV, and again 3-months later, and …….

Remembering also that if you go to pay-on-demand rather than Direct Debit the next six months will be lighter use summer months. The on-demand SV tariff is slightly higher that the DD one though so you would have to weigh it up for your own usage numbers during the summer months.*

(Luckily for me my current fix doesn’t end until 27th August which gives me a bit more time to watch what is going to happen, and at the moment with the newly reduced rates my cost for ussage and SC’s is still slightly less than a new Standard Variable DD would be, and much less than the currently offered new fixes).

*BTW. The cheapest current tariff? You probably didn’t see it if you were looking at the fixes.
I’m not at all suggesting that you go this way but take a look at PAYG and compare it to the Standard Variable pay-on-demand/DD rates.

Hey ​@Goku, 

As Firedog and Nukecad pointed out, there’s a lot of uncertainty right now, and having the option to lock in your unit rates can really help you avoid any sudden price hikes, especially if you’re riding the waves on nimbus on a variable plan. 

Personally, I find that being on a fixed plan is much more comforting! It gives me peace of mind knowing exactly what my unit rate is, and I can easily keep track of my bills by managing how much energy I use. It’s all about finding what works for you!