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Martin Lewis: So Energy launches first 'open market' fixed deal in months – here's who can get it
So Energy has launched the first fixed energy deal available to new customers that's worth considering since the energy crisis began, with a one-year fix that's priced just under July's Energy Price Cap rate for a typical household. Yet availability is limited. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis analyses the tariff in the latest episode of ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.
Update: 20 June 2023: The So Energy 'So Juniper' deal is once more available again. It initially launched last week but removed from sale on Friday 16 June. It's now relaunched, though it could be pulled at any time. For the latest updates and analysis, see our Should I fix my energy? guide.
The video clip, transcript and further analysis are below.
ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live – Tuesday 13 June 2023
From The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on Tuesday 13 June 2023, courtesy of ITV. All rights reserved. Watch the full episode on ITVX.
What is the So Energy deal?
With wholesale energy prices falling and the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) set to fall away from July, suppliers are once again starting to offer fixed deals. So far, we've mostly only seen deals available to existing customers, and often only to a limited selection of households, but So Energy is now offering its tariff to new and existing customers.
The new So Energy tariff is called 'So Juniper'. It's a one-year fixed deal for £2,047 a year for a dual-fuel household on Ofgem's typical use. That makes it 1.3% cheaper than what most households will pay under the new Price Cap from July, and 18% cheaper than what we currently pay under the Government's Energy Price Guarantee (EPG).
It's fixed for 12 months from 1 July and has £75 per fuel early exit fees, so it's not cheap to get out of if you want to switch away before that.
Who can get so the So Energy offer?
Availability is very limited. If you're a new customer, you can only get it via uSwitch or Confused.com. What's more, uSwitch has said it will only be offered to households that have first signed up to its energy alerts via email. After this, it will be opened up to all households that do a comparison on uSwitch or Confused.com.
You'll need to have gone to their websites and agreed to have them let you know when future deals become available, by entering your postcode and email address. You can do this now, though it's likely those already signed up will get offered it first.
However, uSwitch also told us it doesn't know how long the deal will be available for or how many customers will be able to get it, as So Energy could remove the deal at any time based on demand and conditions in the energy market.
If you're an existing So Energy customer, you can get the tariff direct by logging into your energy account.
Is it worth switching to So Energy's deal?
On typical use, the new fixed tariff is 18% cheaper on average than the current EPG rates, which virtually all households are on.
Our current rule of thumb is that, based on current future predictions of energy prices, if any firm offers a fix for under the July Price Cap (so about 17% cheaper than current rates) that looks a decent deal. If it's the same or a little more, it may still be worth considering for the sake of price certainty. Of course, current predictions are just predictions, so we can't promise to be right with hindsight.
And it's worth noting that some of this is crystal-ball gazing and averaging, but if the future predictions are right, this tariff could be worth considering.
For more info, see our full Should I fix my energy? guide.
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