Energy giants battle it out to offer consumers the longest fixed price protection
Britain’s big six energy suppliers are battling it out again to offer consumers the longest fixed price plan. The latest slugs are being exchanged by npower and ScottishPower, with npower today launching a brand new fixed price tariff that could give both its Scottish rival and EDF Energy a bloody nose.
The new tariff, npower Price Fix September 2016 not only offers the longest price protection on the market, with the fix not expiring until 30th September, 2016, but it also doesn’t carry any exit penalties, putting it in direct competition with EDF Energy’s popular Blue + Price Promise.
npower’s new fixed tariff costs £1,317 a year – £16 a year more than ScottishPower’s Fixed Price Energy February 2016 and £125 a year more than EDF Energy’s Blue + Price Promise February 2015. However, in return for this premium consumers get to enjoy security against price hikes for a further 8 and 19 months respectively.
The move now means that consumers have a range of attractive fixed price tariffs to choose from, ranging from a year to over three years long. However, as the fixed price period gets longer so the price is creeping upwards. The cheapest variable priced tariff on the market is Spark Energy’s Advance plan, which costs £1,041 a year, but which requires customers to pay upfront for their energy use. It comes in at £276 a year cheaper than npower’s new fixed price tariff, however, it doesn’t come with any pricing guarantees.
However, although the new longer-term fixed price tariffs are now carrying a premium for the protection they offer, they are still cheaper than suppliers’ standard tariffs for customers who are paying by cash or cheque. To benefit from the price protection and to cut their bills these customers would need to move to paying by direct debit, but the lure of these new fixed price tariffs could be enough to encourage them to do so.
Tom Lyon, energy expert atUswitch.com, says: “It looks like suppliers are on the verge of an all-out fixed price war and this spells very good news for consumers looking for shelter from potential price hikes. npower’s new plan is a double whammy as it not only offers the longest price protection on the market, but it also doesn’t carry any early exit penalties. This will definitely give rivals a bloody nose and lowers the risk to consumers of locking in for such a long time.
“As ever, consumers always have to weigh up their options and the fact is that there are some cheaper options available if you are prepared to take a chance with price hikes. However, the prospect of knowing what price you will be paying for almost three and a half years will prove too good to resist for many, so I would urge consumers to plan ahead and start shopping around now.”
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Type of plan
|
Plan Name
|
Price
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Fixed or Variable
|
Average standard (cash and cheque)
|
N/A
|
£1,353
|
Variable
| |
Average standard (direct debit)
|
N/A
|
£1,265
|
Variable
| |
Cheapest fixed price
|
npower’s Online Price Fix August 2014
|
£1,184
|
Fixed until the end of August 2014
| |
Second cheapest fixed price
|
EDF Energy’s Blue + Price Promise February 2015
|
£1,192
|
Fixed until end of February 2015
| |
Third longest fixed price
|
npower’s Price Fix December 2015
|
£1,305
|
Fixed until end of December 2015
| |
Second longest fixed price
|
ScottishPower Fixed Price Energy February 2016
|
£1,301
|
Fixed until end of January 2016
| |
Longest fixed price
|
npower Price Fix September 2016
|
£1,317
|
Fixed until end of September 2016
|
Source: Uswitch.com
Notes to editors
Bill sizes are based on a medium user customer using 3,300 kWh of electricity and 16,500 kWh of gas paying by direct debit in arrears with bill sizes averaged across all regions.
Bill sizes are based on a medium user customer using 3,300 kWh of electricity and 16,500 kWh of gas paying by direct debit in advance with bill sizes averaged across all regions.
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