New npower tariff comes out on top

Published:

14 December 2009

Topic:

News,Gas & Electricity

The weather outside is frightful but a warm home at Christmas is delightful - and with a price war in full swing, that may cost less than you think.

Its Sol 17 tariff now costs the average home just £907.36 a year - that's almost £350 less than its average standard tariff, and over £450 a year less than people on Scottish Power's average standard tariff are paying.

At the start of August, the cheapest deal on the market was EDF Energy's Online V5 with an average bill of £982.49, so prices really have come down.

Scott Byrom, moneysupermarket.com's energy expert, commented: "Another week, another headline energy tariff - npower has well and truly thrown down the gauntlet today in the energy price war by undercutting British Gas' recently launched WebSaver 5...

"Not only has npower come out top against all the Big Six providers, it also undercuts new entrant OVO Energy's New Energy tariff which had previously been unrivalled for the top spot."

More Christmas cuts to come?

Of course, what consumers want to know is are there more cuts on the horizon? Could 2010 see even more cuts as providers battle it out for our custom?

Scott explained: "We are clearly seeing a battle between providers for the top spot on the table. While this is not uncommon for the time of year, I would advise customers to keep their eye's peeled for further updates to the market.

"With the prospect of colder winter weather moving in and energy consumption increasing, it is crucial Brits move with the market to find the best energy deal for their region and usage; especially as we may see other providers follow now the battle is in full flow, in a bid to make their tariffs the most attractive ahead of the New Year."

Let's switch again?

If you do decide to switch to npower's market-leading tariff, you must avoid moving again for 12 months. It has the best deal but this is largely helped by a £105 discount that you're credited with after you've been on the tariff for one year.

As well as that, if you change providers ahead of March 2011, you'll pay a penalty of £20 per fuel, so £40 in total for gas and electricity customers.

Remember

There are some important things to remember when switching energy firms.

The first is that the leading deal may not be the best for your household. Prices vary from region to region and the amount of energy you actually consume. You can compare gas and electricity providers on our site and find the very best for you.

Secondly, it doesn't matter how many price cuts there are, if you're on your provider's standard tariff. If you don't switch to one of the market-leading online deals then you won't get the price cuts and could miss out on hundreds of pounds in savings.

Energy chart toppers

Please note: Any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing.

Related Links

• Read our article ‘Be smart and cut your energy bills’
• Watch our video ‘How to read your energy bill’
• Compare tariffs from UK gas and electricity providers

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