The best energy deal for your region

Published:

03 April 2009

Topic:

News,Gas & Electricity

Most UK households should see their gas and electricity bills come down in the coming months - not only is our consumption likely to fall as we head into summer but the recent price cuts announced by the six major energy providers have also now taken effect.

Research from moneysupermarket.com has shown that the average household could be saving a whopping £226 a year by switching to the best tariff for its region.

British Gas - ahead in the price war

The cheapest deals are online tariffs and over the past few weeks we've seen a tit-for-tat price war between British Gas  and E.ON. They've been undercutting each other's best online deals.

Following British Gas' latest price cut, its WebSaver2 product is the cheapest across all 14 regions of the UK.

This means that, for example, households in the South East would pay the least at £1,012.96 a year if they switched to British Gas' WebSaver2 deal. By not switching, they would be paying £1,245.75 (assuming they have never switched utility provider and are paying the standard tariff quarterly by cash or cheque). That's a hefty £232 more.

Consumers in North Wales and Liverpool presently face annual bills in excess of £1,295.33 - the highest across the UK. But by moving to the cheapest online deal, presently British Gas' dual fuel Websaver2, they could save around £245 per year.

However, these prices are based on average consumption levels which means that British Gas' WebSaver2 deal may not actually offer best value to you.

Energy bills are notoriously complicated to decipher and understand, but don't let that put you off or deter you from switching.

Get switching

Identifying the best deal and changing energy tariff is easy. As Scott Byrom explains in his step-by-step video guide 'How to switch your energy provider' all you need to do is input your postcode and details of your current gas and electricity provider into our comparison tool - it will then display a list of the leading deals and show if you can save money by switching.

It really couldn't be simpler so there's no excuse to put this off any longer.

Standard tariff customers miss out on huge savings

Energy bill payers suffered massive increases to their bills last year, with the cost of gas going up 47 per cent on average and electricity seeing an average increase of 28 per cent.

Yet, an incredible 73% of households are still on a standard tariff with their energy provider but by switching to the best possible deal on the market, the country would save £1.7billion on its energy bills. 

What will you do with your extra £226 a year?

Pocketing an extra £226 a year by switching your gas and electricity supplier is enough to put a spring in anyone's step. So, once you've made the change, what will you do with that handy windfall? Here are some suggestions:

• Take a low-cost Easter break - our cost-saving travel site, travelsupermarket.com has some fantastic package deals.
  
  
• Buy the new Apple iPod Touch or latest Panasonic Lumix digicamera. Check out our shopping channel for some fantastic deals on electrical goods and shopping deals galore.
  
  
• Treat the kids to a fun day out - a family of four could go to Alton Towers or Thorpe Park over the bank holiday and still have money over for lunch and treats.
  
  
• Bag yourself the latest in mobile phone technology, such as a Sony Ericsson C905. Check out our latest mobile phone and tariffs on our mobile phone comparison site for great deals.
  
  
• Use it to pay for other household bills - £226 could go towards paying for your annual home or car insurance bills.
  
  
• Put your £226 towards a savings account and see your money grow even further.
  

To check out how your region fares in our regional price comparison table, see below:

Based on medium usage consumption (Gas 20,500kwh, Electric 3,300kwh).
Sourced by moneysupermarket.com April 3, 2009.

Note: British Gas WebSaver 2 tariff available from Tuesday April 7, 2009.

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

Related Links

• Watch Scott Byrom's video - "How to switch energy provider"
• Check out great holiday deals with Travelsupermarket.com
• Great offers on our shopping channel
• Check out the latest Sony Ericsson C905 mobile phone
• Check out our mobile phone offers on our comparison site
• Compare savings accounts
• Compare energy prices with our comparison tool

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