Household Bills
Energy bills to ‘rise by £136’ as eight fixed tariffs end in August
Households who don’t shop around could see their energy bills rise by up to £136.59 a year when eight fixed dual fuel tariffs expire at the end of August.
British Gas, EDF Energy, Npower, Sainsbury’s Energy and Flow Energy all have tariffs due to expire at the end of the month, at which point customers will be rolled onto their supplier’s standard tariff.
Where the standard tariff is more expensive than the current fixed deal, households will see, a 7.1% (£77.13) average increase on their annual energy bills unless they shop around to a better deal, according to Gocompare.com.
Households in the East Midlands and who are on the EDF Energy Blue +Price Promise August 2015 tariff will be hit the hardest, with a huge £136.59 (13.62%) rise when they are automatically switched to the EDF Energy standard tariff.
While half of the tariffs ending in August will cause significant price rises for households, some customers may see a reduction in their energy bills when their fixed tariff comes to an end. This is because their supplier’s standard tariff is cheaper than the fixed deal they are currently on.
Because of this, customers on the British Gas Fix & Control Aug 2015 and Fix & Reward August 2015 tariffs, as well as households the Sainsbury’s Energy Fix & Reward August 2015, will see their bills drop by £58.06 (4.78%) when their tariffs come to an end. However, they could save more than £300 simply by going online and switching their energy tariff to one of the UK’s current best buys.
Caroline Lloyd, energy spokesperson at Gocompare.com, said: “With the summer months, and school holidays in full swing, it’s understandable that energy bills aren’t at the front of people’s minds. However, it’s important to be an active energy shopper, even when it’s warm outside, as failing to do so could significantly impact households.”
