I fixed our prices again with Octopus in September, before our old fix expired.
We are in credit, and the fix means that, given our historic consumption over a year, our monthly payment will more than suffice to cover any likely bills, even if we have a very harsh winter.
Indeed, next year, we may take some of the account credit and have a break somewhere.
I have found Octopus pretty good to deal with since switching from OVO.
I always phone Octopus - you can stipulate more details and cutover times and dates etc when changing tariffs - and I have been able to forward lock in a change at a future date using a current tariff that would no longer be available at the time of change. Pleasantly surprised I could do that.
Fixes seem a bit cheaper than a few weeks ago.
Can probably save close to 4p/kWh for electricity with Outfox.
Actually 4.84p/kWh as the higher Ovo quote didnāt include VAT!
Bloody ridiculous.
Itās always a gamble when to fix and it may have paid off for you. 
My GCH is costing on average about 11p per hour over the last few days. Itās on 24/7 so the fabric of the house is warm.
The gas is about 6.37 + VAT.
It was maybe another 1p cheaper when @Count.d suggested Outfox a few months ago!
Must jump soon as nearly 5p/kWh is a big saving with high electricity usage.
Just switched electricity to Outfox for 12 months fixed at 21.36 p/kWh around 3.5 p/kWh cheaper than current supplier even after the recent price cap reduction. Prices have been quite volatile in recent weeks and this is the cheapest Iāve seen in the last couple of months.
Online estimates/forecasts suggest an 18% price cap increase in July due to current market conditions. Hopefully should save over Ā£350 even if Ovo prices are static which seems unlikely.
Thanks @Count.d
My fixed deal comes to an end this week, with the April reduction I was paying just under 20 p/kWh.
The current fixed deals with Octopus are slightly more expensive than the price cap so looking at our useage Agile actually fares slightly cheaper than our old plan so weāve switched to Agile. Iāll keep an eye on fixed deals, if something good comes along without an exit fee weāll switch it over.
Tomorrow is a good start, prices are negative from midnight until tea time so weāll be doing some washing, running the oven on a cleaning cycle etc! Weāll probably have too much solar to take full advantage but weāll schedule some things overnight.
The Eddi hot water diverter is rather clever, it monitors Agile and will set a schedule based on a threshold you set so it will boost when prices turn negative for example so Iāll be using that too.
Thatās cheap for electricity. Is your gas rate high?
Yes , it is cheap and inclusive of VAT, Iāve been keeping an eye on prices there for weeks now due to āmarket turbulenceā as the prices rose rapidly - itās the 5th 12 month fixed tariff theyāve had in April so far and also the lowest unit price in months. 7-10 days ago unit prices were 20-25% higher, and the quoted monthly D/D was 25% more. Only a few days ago they only offered a price cap tracker undercutting it by a few %.
Went for electricity only as we donāt currently use much gas (long story), but maybe should have checked as currently paying silly money to British Gas just to retain the supply to the house (standing charge essentially). Waiting to see if any of these proposed tariffs that get rid of the S/C and increase unit price arise for those who use very little energy and are hammered by standing charges.
My pal who lives in Asia told me the other day he pays less for 2 months gas/electric usage there than he pays monthly in standing charges in his UK home and to keep a light bulb on a timer! (Heās abroad most of the time).
(Just an observation and no criticism of anyone at all.)
The energy supply market is I believe quite unfair currently and far from āprogressiveā as the poorest are probably most disadvantaged.
If you can afford and charge an EV at home or have invested in solar there are many benefits to be had (tariffs) which as far as I can tell arenāt available to the households who donāt charge EVs or have solar.
Not sure why anyone shouldnāt be able to benefit from cheaper off peak prices not only those with EVs or solar installations.
Iāve been tempted by solar especially after HHās experiences he detailed last year, but itās not something I can implement immediately at home. Iād potentially like an EV but it would currently be impossible to charge at home without securing better rear lane access and I suspect some hefty electrical supply upgrades. Not impossible I suspect but will take some planning.
I wholeheartedly agree. We have a drive. We have our EV. We had Ā£16,000 in premium bonds that we withdrew to fund the heat pump, solar panels and batteries. Last year we ran the house and car for nothing. But if you donāt have Ā£16,000 in the bank, if you canāt afford an EV and donāt have a drive, you are screwed. Electricity prices in the U.K. are ridiculous. The price is linked to the cost of generating electricity by gas. It needs to change. Millions of people in the U.K. struggle to pay their fuel bills. The people that most need to benefit from all the things we talk about on here are the least able to actually take advantage. We talk about an extra battery for Ā£2,000 in order to save a few quid on power when that sort of money is beyond the wildest dreams of many. The level of inequality in what is still a wealthy country is heartbreaking. So yes, I agree.
Great post.
Dependency on gas will remain since the infrastructure needs to remain in place in case there is no sun / wind in winter. People conveniently step over that every time since it spoils the dream.
So, whatās the alternative to fossil energy?
Yes, I agree with what you are saying.
Even with just solar the options are more limited but the Agile tariff is available to all but it is risky as it tracks the market daily and gives half hourly pricing with a cap of Ā£1/kWh.
Today is an extreme example of a good day. Everything blue is negative.
The alternative is of course nuclear, which has its own challenges. My point was about the daft situation in the U.K. where the cost of electricity is determined by the most expensive means of production, which is gas. If the cost was determined by the average rather than the most expensive, the price of electricity would be considerably lower, as renewables are a lot cheaper than gas for generation. Octopus has been very vocal about this and I heard recently that the government are looking into it. Changes to the current flawed system are desperately needed, as is continued investment in renewables.
Investment in more renewables just makes balancing the grid even harder. Nuclear is better to a point, but as the French have discovered, if you generate a lot with it, you still canāt balance the grid as demand fluctuates, but production doesnāt. The real priorities are grid upgrades so that power thatās generated can be delivered to locations where there is demand, storage (including home batteries) and incentives for people to use off peak power.
Iāve just heard of a new deal from Octopus. Lease a new or used EV from them and with their free Electroverse card you can get 50% off certain public chargers. This deal runs for the life of the lease. That would certainly help many who have no drive or for other reasons cannot charge at home.
That is quite a rare event these days though.
Slight error in your post.
Gas is generally not the most expensive means of electricity production in the UK.
Figures from Ember put the cost of producing electricity from gas (November 2025) at Ā£52.46 per MWh. An additional Carbon tax of Ā£27.95 MWh is added, so letās say Ā£81 per MWh.
The guaranteed price paid for electricity from renewable sources on existing contracts is quite varied, in some cases as high as Ā£214 per MWh. For the sake of argument letās use the award prices for AR7 which are; for fixed offshore wind Ā£95 MWh and for floating offshore wind Ā£225 MWh (2025 prices). These award prices are inflation linked and so will increase annually.
So even with the ācarbon taxā gas generated electricity is still cheaper than renewables.
If the gas fired power stations were to be run full time (rather than as currently only being used when there is insufficient wind and/or sun) then the price of gas fueled electricity would fall as the fixed overheads would be amortised over more output.
Willy.
There is also a pragmatic reason why energy prices cannot easily be reduced, regardless of the means of generation. It pays for the national grid, which is in need of massive investment to make it fit for purpose after decades of underinvestment and increased demand. That could be funded through energy bills or taxation, but either way the money has to come from people and businesses who use it.
