Your energy bills will have increased as much as 55% over the last eight years and you’re now spending on average over £1,400 each year on gas and electricity. Larger homes will actually be spending over £2,000 annually.
But is there much you can do about energy rises? After all, if the big companies are going to up their rates, will you simply have to play along?
No, and you can make a stand today. First of all look at your energy efficiency and find ways to reduce the amount of energy you are using in the home.
Another option on top of this is to look at your supplier. Did you know that cheaper tariff rates can save you up to £200 each year? So let’s take a look at the five cheapest suppliers in your area to help you save some money.
Prices listed are for both gas and electricity, at a monthly direct debit with average usage.
The cheapest gas and electricity rates (as of March 2014) are:
- Ovo Energy – Cheaper Energy Fixed: £1,015 (fixed)
- First Utility – iSave Fixed April 2015: £1,028 (fixed)
- Spark Energy – Direct Debit Advance 4: £1,070 (variable)
- Ovo Energy – Greener Energy Fixed (online): £1,071 (fixed)
- Woodland Trust Energy – New Energy Fixed: £1,075 (fixed)
- Ovo Energy – Better Energy Fixed: £1,075 (fixed)
There is a difference between fixed and variable tariffs and as you can see, Spark Energy are the only supplier offering a variable tariff.
Fixed does give you peace of mind that your energy rates won’t increase over a pre-set period. However, if prices do fall, yours will stay the same.
Checkout our article on Which is the cheapest energy supplier?(Opens in a new browser tab) for more information.
The Big Six
The chances are you are using one of the big six power suppliers and might not have heard of the companies listed above. But why should you keep paying out more every year?
Shown below are the standard rates of the so-call big six and how much more expensive they are than the cheaper deals:
- SSE – Standard (paperless billing): £1,212 (= £198 more expensive)
- Npower – Standard Dual Fuel: £1,205 (= £190 more expensive)
- British Gas – Standard: £1,193 (= £178 more expensive)
- Scottish Power – Standard (online): £1,189 (= £174 more expensive)
- EDF Energy – Standard (variable): £1,164 (= £149 more expensive)
- Eon – Eon Energy Plan (paperless billing): £1,160 (= £145 more expensive)
Of course, price isn’t always everything and many of you will value customer service and reputability highly too.
But funnily enough, it is the smaller, unknown companies which score more highly in Which?’s company survey as well.
There are other ways you can reduce your heating bills, checkout our article on What is the cheapest way to heat your home?(Opens in a new browser tab) for a whole list of ways your can heat your home for less.