Household Bills
Energy customers should take advantage of price war
Energy customers should look to falling fixed rate tariffs rather than waiting for energy companies to react to lower wholesale prices.
Consumers should take advantage of a fixed tariff ‘price war’ to guarantee their own savings, as energy companies fail to pass on wholesale price cuts, argues Gocompare.com.
This week, the Chancellor called on energy companies to pass on wholesale energy price reductions to domestic customers, but Jeremy Cryer, energy spokesperson at Gocompare.com says consumers can take matters into their own hands rather than waiting for price cuts.
He adds: “While the Government is right to challenge the energy providers to pass on these savings as millions of people are still on a ‘big six’ standard tariff, the truth is that most households would be better off switching to one of the best-buy fixed rate deals currently available. As our figures show – it could be a straight choice between saving over £300 now or trusting your current provider to reduce your bill.
“We know energy companies can be slow at passing on price reductions to existing customers, but there are loads of really good fixed tariff deals available at the moment. The best deals have been getting cheaper and cheaper in recent months with a real price war breaking out between a number of the smaller providers, making it the perfect time to shop around and save money.”
As a result of the price cuts in late 2014, the energy best-buy table is now entirely comprised of sub-£1,000 tariffs – the first time that’s happened since mid-2012.
Top ten cheapest dual fuel tariffs
| Supplier | Tariff | Annual cost | Saving vs typical bill* | Early exit fees |
| First Utility | iSave Fixed v42 March 2016 | £935 | £395 | £30 per fuel |
| Extra Energy | Fresh Fixed Price January 2016 v5 | £937 | £393 | £25 per fuel |
| Extra Energy | Clear Fixed Price March 2016 v1 | £937 | £393 | £25 per fuel |
| Cooperative Energy | Fair & Square March 2016 | £938 | £392 | £30 per fuel |
| Extra Energy | Bright Fixed Price March 2016 v1 | £961 | £369 | £25 per fuel |
| Npower | Fixed Energy Online April 2016 | £963 | £367 | None |
| ScottishPower | Online Fixed Price Energy January 2016 | £970 | £360 | None |
| Ovo Energy | Better Energy Fixed (Online) | £973 | £357 | £30 per fuel |
| Green Star Energy | Rate Saver 12 Month Fixed 1412 Paperless | £987 | £343 | £30 per fuel |
| Sainsbury’s Energy | Fixed Price January 2016 | £998 | £332 | £30 per fuel |
Based on dual fuel, payment by monthly direct debit, averaged across all UK regions and for households with an annual energy usage of 13,500kWh gas and 3,200kWh electricity (medium user). Correct as of 07/01/2015. * Saving calculated against an average bill £1,330 as calculated by Ofgem August 2014.
For more information on switching energy supplier, read Gocompare.com’s guides, here:http://www.gocompare.com/gas-and-electricity/guide/
