Frank Erskine wrote
Andy Burns wrote
bm wrote

NPower are offering me a saving of £71 per year if I switched to them
from Hydro Elecrtric Has anyone had experience of using nPower?

No, but I just used their online comparison calculator ...

I'm coming to the end of a 12 month fix with Eon, based on my actual
consumption figures nPower say their fix until Aug 2013 would be
£89/year more expensive, and their fix until Dec 2013 would be £130/year
more expensive, their Go Save non-fixed tariff would save me £28/annum
(depending on future price changes).

Why do they all have to make it so complicated?

So you cant just compare the simple figure and go for the cheapest.

And with that fixed price possibility, there clearly has to
be a different price for the fixed and non fixed price, and
for the time for which the fixed price is fixed for too.

It should be possible to simply get a price list (on a piece of real
paper)

No thanks, I'd much rather have it on their web site.

from each supplier quoting their price per BThU, kWh or
whatever of gas and leccy, as well as any terms for, say,
dual-fuel discounts, on-line readings submission and
so on, so that the potential (!) customer can then enter
these into a spreadsheet and choose the best option.

That isnt going to be possible with the fixed price option alone.

Only today (well, yesterday by now) I was nabbed by a salesman
(Eon, ISTR) in a shopping centre, asking me if I would mind telling
him who my energy supplier is. I told him that I do mind (Scottish
Power, as it happens, but don't tell the Eon salesman) - he quite
politely said that he was just doing his job.

Of course the reality is that all their charges/tariffs
are so volatile that choosing a "best deal" today
may become horrendous almost tomorrow...

And that's why you desire for simplicity just isnt feasible.

Speaking of which, the price of unleaded petrol seems
to have dipped somewhat - locally Asda are doing it for
134.7 pence per litre. BP, who were one of the worst, are
currently quite competitive .in certain locations.

And that's another example of where simplicity just isnt feasible.