This week, npower announced it will lower standard customers' gas bills by 7%. From the end of this month, around two million of the energy firm's customers will see their bills fall by around £50 a year.
However, despite four of the big six now lowering their prices, not everyone thinks they have gone far enough to bring down bills for struggling consumers.
Scott Byrom, moneysupermarket.com's head of utilities, demanded: "Where's the price war we were all hoping for? It's not a 'price war'; it's more like a 'price fisticuffs'."
The new npower deal
Average npower standard tariff bills will now fall to £1,196 a year for dual fuel customers. However, that's still almost £50 more than E.ON, which is offering the lowest standard dual fuel deal.
Scott said: "npower is the fourth of the big six to offer their customers a tiny price drop - 7% to standard gas prices. While this cut is on a par with the recent cut from rival British Gas, npower unfortunately hasn't even come close to taking the top spot on price for dual fuel customers; it currently sits fifth in the table for standard dual fuel tariffs."
He also warned that, apart from British Gas, these cuts are effective from the end of March, which won't be much help to customers who needed lower costs during the freezing winter weather.
Bring down your own bills
There's been a great deal of pressure on the big six energy companies to cut their bills. At the start of the month, moneysupermarket.com analysis showed that wholesale gas prices had fallen by 60% since the middle of 2008, but domestic gas bills are at a ten-year high.
In fact, our research showed that if the energy providers had cut bills in line with the fall in wholesale prices, UK customers would be an average of £478 a year better off.
Although bills haven't come down, customers can cut their own bills by as much as 25% just by switching to one of the market-leading deals.
Scott called for bill payers to "roll up their sleeves and make their own savings", explaining that online, pay-monthly tariffs remain almost £300 cheaper a year than standard, quarterly tariffs.
"Effectively, this would mean an immediate 24% price cut to your annual bills. While for many customers switching to a new provider is the best option, at the very least customers should contact their current provider and ask to move to its cheapest tariff."
The cheapest deal available just now is First Utility, with an average annual bill of just £889 for its dual fuel iSave tariff.
However, the best deal for you depends on where you are in the country and how much energy you use. Use our tool to compare gas and electricity providers to find the cheapest tariff for you.
The difference between online and off
Switching to your provider's best online tariff can make a huge difference to your bills. Here's a breakdown of just how many hundreds you could save:
|
Provider |
Average Standard Tariff |
Average Online/Best Tariff |
Difference |
|
British Gas |
£1,157.67 |
£899.04
WebSaver 6 |
£258.63 |
|
EDF Energy |
£1,189.40 |
£903.74
Online Saver V6 |
£285.66 |
|
E.ON |
£1,149.16 |
£921.92
Fix Online V6 |
£227.24 |
|
npower |
£1,196.33 |
£907.36
Sign Online 17 |
£288.97 |
|
Scottish Power |
£1,361.95 |
£922.24
Online Energy Saver 9 |
£439.71 |
|
Scottish & Southern Energy |
£1,161.69 |
£901.50
Go Direct 3 |
£260.19 |
|
First Utility |
£1,132.63 |
£889.00
iSave v3 |
£243.63 |
|
OVO Energy |
N/A |
£920.68
New Energy |
N/A |
E.ON, npower and Scottish & Southern Energy figures correct from 31.03.10
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