Household Bills
Quarter of a million households face energy bill hike
As England basks in sunshine today, you may not be thinking about your energy costs. But almost 250,000 households face a £200 jump in energy bills in the next three months.
A total of 130 fixed tariff deals are coming to an end in April, May and June which means 247,000 households will be impacted.
If billpayers fail to act, they’ll be switching onto pricier default tariffs which could add around £200 a year.
The research from Comparethemarket suggested that the total cost to consumers stands in the region of £50m.
The biggest hikes in the cost of energy will impact households with tariffs ending in April, where the average annual increase in energy costs will be £217 if no change to their tariff is made.
The month with the highest number of customers affected is June, with 98,000 households expected to move on to the more expensive default tariffs if users don’t switch.
Peter Earl, head of energy at Comparethemarket, said: “There is no question that ‘default’ or, the more infamously named, ‘standard variable tariffs’ are bad value for the majority of the UK that remain on them.
“The government is expected to take action to cap the prices of these products in due course, but these measures mask the best solution for cost weary customers. For those who haven’t yet shopped around, they can expect to save around £200 if they switch to the cheapest tariffs on the market. It is essential that customers take the time to look around for the best deal to avoid being ripped off.”
