Hundreds of thousands of UK households are about to see what they pay for energy rocket as their fixed rate deals come to an end. The hardest hit are likely to be those coming off the five-year Price Protection 2010 plan from British Gas.
They've been benefiting from fixed prices during a tumultuous few years and most will now see their bills soar by hundreds of pounds a year.
Scott Byrom, moneysupermarket.com's energy expert, said: "The expensive winter months may be over but thousands of UK homes are about to be hit by higher bills. The faster they act and find a cheaper deal, the less they'll feel the sting."
Time to worry?
But it's not just fixers who are likely to be hit with soaring bills - there's other movement in the markets. After almost two years of falling wholesale prices, they're finally on the rise - and household bills are likely to follow.
In fact, npower and former market-leader OVO Energy have both already raised rates, with many npower customers suddenly paying almost a quarter more after their online tariffs came to an end.
Anyone signing up to OVO Energy's New Energy Fixed tariff will now pay 8% more than existing customers; that's £72 for the average home.
Energy prices are often quick to rise but slow to come down - so how can you protect your household?
Time to switch
If you're on a standard tariff then you could save hundreds of pounds straight away.
The average standard tariff from the main eight providers costs £1,169 a year, while the average online tariff costs £899.64 a year. That means you could save almost £270 on average just by switching to your provider's best deal.
In fact, if you're on one of the most expensive standard tariffs, there are even better potential savings.
The best-value tariff for you depends on how much you use and where in the country you live, however. The average home on Scottish Power's standard tariff is paying £1,289.54 - meaning they could save an epic £413.10 a year by moving to npower's Sign Online 18 deal, which has an average bill of just £876.44.
|
Provider |
Average standard tariff |
Average online/best tariff |
Difference |
|
British Gas |
£1,157.27 |
£898.82
WebSaver 7 |
£258.85 |
|
EDF Energy |
£1,158.57 |
£903.74
Online Saver V6 |
£253.81 |
|
E.ON |
£1,151.63 |
£882.71
Fix Online V8 |
£268.92 |
|
npower |
£1,196.33 |
£876.44
Sign Online 18 |
£319.89 |
|
Scottish Power |
£1,289.54 |
£922.24
Online Energy Saver 9 |
£367.30 |
|
Scottish & Southern |
£1,158.76 |
£898.06
Go Direct 4 |
£260.70 |
|
First Utility |
£1,074.37 |
£889.00
iSave v3 |
£243.63 |
|
OVO Energy |
N/A |
£926.18
New Energy Fixed |
N/A |
|
Average |
£1,169.50 |
£899.64 |
£269.86 |
Sourced by www.moneysupermarket.com 28.04.2010
Time to fix?
But maybe you're not happy just to move to the cheapest deal, after all, prices could still go up.
Where are the best deals if you want to fix?
|
Provider |
Fixed tariff |
|
EDF Energy |
Annual Fix Version 2 |
|
E.ON |
FixOnline v8 |
|
npower |
Go Fix v2 |
|
Scottish & Southern |
Atlantic Online Fixed Price Sep 2011 |
|
OVO Energy |
New Energy Fixed |
Sourced by www.moneysupermarket.com 29.04.2010
Time to move
Whether you decide to fix or not, it's definitely time to switch for millions of UK homes. Research by moneysupermarket.com earlier this year found that British households are wasting a staggering £3.6billion each year.
Scott added: "Even when prices are falling, most homes could save more by moving providers. However, when prices start to rise it becomes even more important to shield yourself by switching to the best deal.
"With hundreds of pounds of savings up for grabs for most UK homes, you really could offset any price hikes and save money."
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