Blue + Price Promise February 2015 comes without an exit penalty, allowing consumers flexibility to move on should energy prices suddenly tumble.

The new plan costs £1,192 a year on average. This is £10 a year more than EDF Energy’s current Blue + Price Promise Plan, but the latter only offers price protection until the end of June 2014.

This means that for £10 more those who take up the new plan will be protected from price hikes for eight months longer.

According to uSwitch.com, the only fixed price plan on the market that is cheaper is Ovo’s New Energy Fixed. At £1,172 a year it costs £20 a year less, however, it only guarantees prices for 12 months from the plan going live. It also carries a £60 early exit penalty.

Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch.com, said: “Although it is £46 a year more expensive than the cheapest variable plan on the market, prices would only need to increase by 4% for this small premium to be wiped out.

“More importantly, Blue + Price Promise doesn’t carry an exit penalty which means that if prices don’t increase again or even tumble and fall, then customers would be free to move on again to a more competitive tariff.

“Importantly though, if you’ve never switched before and are sitting on one of the most expensive standard tariffs on the market then you could save £161 a year on average by signing up to this deal.

“Not only is this a solid saving, but it comes with the added bonus of a price freeze for the best part of two winters. With such competitive fixed price options around, it makes sense for households to start shopping around now.”

The new EDF Energy plan compares well against the cheapest variable plan on the market, SSE’s Discount Energy Bonus October 2014 (with paperless billing).