Martin Lewis recently shared a handy list of need-to-knows for all households following the announcement from new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, that energy bills for the average user will be frozen at no more than £2,500 for the next two years.
The Prime Minister’s plan will save the average household around £1,000 from October and protect billpayers from further expected rises over the coming months. For businesses and other non-domestic users such as schools and hospitals, which have not been covered by the existing price cap, a six-month scheme will offer equivalent support.
However, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com has now posted an "important" update warning people that some of the information around fixed tariffs may be changing which could “impact choices people are making right now”. The consumer champion had previously indicated that those on a fixed tariff could either stay on them, or leave and switch to the new state subsidised tariffs with no exit penalties, but he has now said this will be down to the energy firm.
Posting on Twitter, he said: “I'm sorry to post about energy right now, but this is an important update, and may impact choices people are making right now. This is specifically about those on fixed tariffs.”
He explained how information on the rules for fixes may be changing and said the new Energy Price Guarantee will “effectively work as a discount of unit rates of the pre-planned 1 Oct price cap rate”.
Martin said: “I'm now hearing this per £ discount will apply to all tariffs, including fixes.
“So, many fixes that currently look costlier than price guarantee will end up cheaper.
“Plus there may be an info reversal on the 'all can get out of a fixed tariff without exit penalties' which govt told me earlier. It may be up to firms.”
He ended by warning: “Be careful til I get confirmation.”
Later, Martin added: “To those saying ‘can't it wait until tomorrow’. Sadly not I'm hearing of people trying to cancel fixes now, and this could cost them £100s or £1,000s they can't afford to lose. I felt it necessary to get the information out.”
Without intervention, the average household energy bill would have jumped 80 per cent from October 1, from the current £1,971 to £3,549 a year under Ofgem's latest price cap.
Up to 15 per cent of households are on fixed tariffs, many locked in at higher prices than the current cap amid previous dire predictions that it could rise to as high as £7,263 next year.
For those who have fixed recently, it is worth immediately checking when the ‘cooling-off’ period ends to allow for a possible penalty-free exit.
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