There was some suggestion recently on some news program that gas prices might come down this winter due to a new North Sea pipeline that has been built? Does anyone think this is likely?
My gas supplier (Powergen) has offered to cap my present price per unit till 2010 without tying me in. I'm wondering if I should go for it. In so doing, I'll probably lose out on any price cuts if their prices come down.
Thanks,
Mike W
Centrica, too, was plugging a fixed rate scheme, suggesting to my cynical mind that they believe prices will come down.
Tiddy Ogg.
If you are not tied in go for it. If prices drop change supplier. But I can't believe Powergen are that daft, or perhaps they are.
If they cap your ppu then it can go down, it just can`t go up - that`s what cap means. Plus if they`re not tying you in, what have you got to lose? Sign up now, and if prices go down then go elsewhere!
There's always a catch. I called Powergen to ask if I'd lose out on price reductions if I went for the 'capped rate with no tie-in'. They said no. So I delved deeper, to identify the catch. That's when they divulged that the capped rate is a more expensive rate! You have to pay a considerably higher price per unit! Of course, they don't tell you that in the advertising.
But back to my original question... what are the odds that rates will come down this winter, and by how much, approx?
Mike W
There is a catch. See my reply to T.O.
Money! They put the rate up if you opt for the capped rate - I just found out!
Mike
Most gas for the consumer market has already been purchased at fairly high prices, so IMO the chance of it coming down this winter (in the retail consumer market) is zero.
But I might be wrong.
How much more (in percentage terms) is the capped rate? I can't see gas or electricity coming down over the next 5 years.
But the OP specifically said "cap my present price per unit till 2010 without tying me in" - are you both talking about the same product? My advice is valid for the original post, obviously if the price goes up when capped then that changes everything.
Ah, my mistake; sorry. I had assumed that Powergen meant my present rate would remain the same. Hence the wording of my OP.
Mike W
Sorry; I dodn't make a note of that. All I can remember was that it was significantly more. Powergen's enquiry number is 0800 056 3856.
Mike W
My hunch is that you're mopst likely right. The very concept of oil/gas/petrol coming down in price seems almost a joke, doesn't it? I bet it wouldn't go down, even if we discovered the world's biggest oil field in the North Sea or in Poole Harbour...
Mike W
Have you checked out the alternative suppliers (including Ebico) to see what they`d end up costing you? The big question is - can you afford the risk of bigger bills if prices go up a lot? If not, then you`re going to be better off with a capped product to ensure your bills are kept below an affordable maximum. If you can afford the risk, then stick with the cheapest product you can, and change whenever someone else gets noticably cheaper :-)
Wholesale prices have already come down, so it is very likely that they will. Electricity prices should also come down by a smaller %, as gas is the raw material for a lot of the electricity production.
Petrol prices have come down a bit already. My guess is that gas prices will go down in the spring.
and that's pretty unlikely. Since 1980 the world has been burning oil faster than it discovers it, with an increasing ratio. We currently burn about 6 barrels for every 1 we discover.
Robert
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