Should I commit to a fixed deal, or should I wait?

It rather depends on what you mean by ‘worth it.’ There are many customers who would rather know precisely how much they’re going to spend on energy for the next year than save a few pounds for a few months by staying on a variable tariff which is just as likely to rise again sometime over the next twelve months. Cornwall Insights have a pretty good crystal ball; you might have a look at their predictions for the next year: Cornwall Insight's final forecast for the October price cap

Who would have thought that strikes by liquefied natural gas workers in Australia could lead to higher energy bills in England next winter?

I do wonder if we will ever see much competition on standard fixed rate tariff again. 

I suspect much of the focus will be on time/type of use tariff from now on.

Not a surprise there isn't much switching between suppliers going on, although it has picked up. 

https://www.electralink.co.uk/2023/08/price-cap-helps-switching-increase/

Thanks for your real-life story; it’s always helpful to hear of others’ experiences. I fixed a few months early in 2021, which meant that I missed out on the first couple of alarming price hikes. It really hit hard when that contract ended in January this year:
  

I suspect the variable rate will be higher in Q1 and Q2 2024 so fixing now may be as good as it gets. So over the cold months in the new year the variable rate will be more expensive. 

The longer you leave it, the higher the risk fixed rates may creep up as winter approaches, even though the weather is relatively mild and gas storage is pretty full. 

Just a personal view. 

I don't think any supplier is looking to build much market share apart from time of use type tarrif now. Those times are gone. 

Hey @spidermorse47,

It’s a tough decision, considering what’s happened in recent years with the energy crisis. I’m facing the same decision myself! 

Keep us posted with what you decide 😊

Hey @Tricia,

Yes the new rates will be effective from the 1st of October, this will allow you to compare to the fixed rate plans.

This FAQ may be helpful:

Thank you for all the replies. Sound and logical in all you say, I'm sure they will help my decision. 

I think you’re rather missing the point of fixed-rate tariffs. OVO and other energy companies determine their prices depending on what they expect to have to pay in the future. Until the price cap was introduced some years ago, they were pretty much allowed to charge what they wanted to, and it was simply supply and demand that kept prices in check. This wasn’t working for many customers, though, who didn’t shop around for better deals but simply stayed with the same company year after year regardless of whether they were paying over the odds. The price cap was intended to prevent this, and set a limit on how much companies could charge.

The cap used to change twice yearly, but since last year it’s been calculated every quarter depending on how wholesale prices moved, bearing in mind that companies have to buy what they expect to need in advance, at prices set by the wholesale market. Now it’s possible for customers to know what they will be paying for the next quarter.

This has been pretty volatile over the past two years, so those who rely on knowing what they can expect to pay over a longer period - a year or two - have the possibility of buying at a fixed price. The price a plan is offered at can change anytime, as suppliers follow the changes they see in wholesale markets. However, once a customer accepts an offer at a specific price, it won’t change over the length of the contract. 

So there will not be any change in the offer price for fixed tariffs simply because a new price cap enters into force. The supplier is gambling on having a certain number of customers on a particular tariff; this is the reason why there are exit fees if the customer chooses to end the contract early and start to pay at a perhaps lower variable price, which will change with the price cap unless something drastic happens in the next year or two.