Now's the time to change your energy tariff

by Marghaid Howie on 04 February 2011  |  7 comments
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With the possibility of further energy price hikes later in the year, now could be the time to lock in to a fixed tariff.

With EON’s price rise coming into effect today and EDF having just announced they will do the same when their price freeze thaws on 2nd March, all the big six suppliers have now shown their hand, which at least makes it easier to see where we stand.

Each supplier’s price rise has only impacted standard tariffs – further proof that staying on a default tariff is a sure-fire path to paying too much.

For example, EDF’s post-price-rise standard tariff will be the second most expensive of the six suppliers, and over £200 per year more expensive than their current online tariff, which is the cheapest.

Fuel prices are continuing to rocket, hitting both our household and motoring costs hard and making it even more important to save money wherever we can. And if wholesale prices continue to soar, we could well be in for a second round of price hikes later in the year.

If this is the case, it might be a good idea to lock in to a fixed price now. There are several fixed price tariffs in our top tariffs table below, which guarantee that your unit prices won’t increase for a year or more. Your bills may still vary but only if you use more. However, watch out – fixed tariffs carry cancellation fees if you switch tariff early, and straightforward online deals are often cheapest.

Top tariffs

Here are the current cheapest tariffs. Figures are different from previous weeks, as the energy regulator has recently changed its estimation of average usage.

UK average: payment by monthly Direct Debit, dual fuel, based on 16,500kWh Gas and 3,300kWh Electricity usage.

Compare gas and electricity tariffs at lovemoney.com