Money-saving expert Martin Lewis this afternoon urged energy consumers to take action, advising them that now is the prime time to lock in their energy tariffs. As winter approaches and fuel costs rise, Ofgem has announced a hike in the average household energy bill, expected to increase by £149 from October, setting the new cap at £1,717.
Amidst this surge, households are pondering whether securing fixed deals with energy providers is wise.
Taking to X, which has taken over from Twitter, Martin Lewis emphatically tweeted: “Should u fix energy bill now? And can you get lower standing charges? Yes, for many it looks a strong time to fix. For lower users there’s also a tracker tariff with £50 off standing charges.”
In his message, Lewis linked to advice on his Money Saving Expert website, highlighting offers that could potentially result in savings beneath the looming energy price cap.
Particularly compelling options include Outfox the Market’s Fixed Dual deal at an average of 6 per cent below the October cap. Other considered choices were EDF Essentials, E. on next fixed, and Ovo Energy’s 1 Year Fixed offerings, all undercutting the cap by varying attractive percentages. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip/#energyfix
The increase in the price cap coincides with the government’s decision to withdraw winter fuel payments from millions of pensioner households not receiving benefits. Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended this decision, attributing it to a £22 billion deficit in public finances inherited from the Conservatives.
“It’s not a decision I wanted to make,” she stated. “It was a decision that I had to make in incredibly challenging circumstances to put our public finances on a firm footing.”
This policy is projected to decrease the number of pensioners receiving the up-to-£300 payment by 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million, saving approximately £1.4 billion this financial year. For more information from MSE on fixing visit here.
