Gas & Electricity Suppliers

You can often save money on your gas and electricity bil by changing suppliers. According to figures published by the National Audit Office, people who have switched suppliers have saved, on average, £78 a year on gas and £45 on their annual electricity bills.

And since switching doesn't require any kind of physical upheaval (your gas pipes, electricity cables, and meters stay the same), the only hassle involved - if you want an accurate idea of how much you could save - is working out your annual consumption.

Switching Suppliers

1. Work out your annual gas and electricity consumption by adding up the kilowatt-hours (your electricity bill may call these 'units') on your last four quarterly bills. The energy regulator Ofgem estimates that average annual consumption is:
   • 10,000 kWh (gas) and 1,650 kWh (electricity) in a flat or small house
   • 19,050 kWh (gas) and 3,300 kWh (electricity) in a medium-sized house
   • 28,000 kWh (gas) and 4,950 (electricity) in a large house
2. Identify which suppliers will save you money. The easiest way to do this is to enter details of your annual consumption into the interactive calculators at http://www.buy.co.uk, http://www.unravelit.com, or http://www.uswitch.com (which usefully gives each company a service rating). Alternatively, use the price information published in the free fact sheets published by Ofgem. The fact sheets also give suppliers' contact details.
3. Phone your chosen companies for quotes and to check what kind of contract is offered. With rolling contracts, the supplier is free to change the tariff after giving you 10 days' notice, but you are usually free to change to another supplier without penalty. With fixed contracts, the price can't go up during a set period - usually a year - but you could be charged a fee if you decide to switch again before the end of this period.
4. Sign the contract with your new supplier and tell the old supplier that you want to switch. They may not let you do so until all bills have been paid.
5. Expect the whole process to take about 28 days, during which time either you will be asked to supply a meter reading or your new supplier will take one. Keep a note of this so you can check that the old supplier uses the correct figure when calculating your final bill.
6. You should receive a letter from your new supplier telling you the date that the switch will take place.

Reducing Your Bills

Using less energy will reduce your bills, but another way of saving money is to change from paying your bills by cash or cheque to paying by direct debit in order to take advantage of a price reduction of between about 5% and 10% (depending on usage and the company supplying the energy).

If your gas supplier is British Gas, paying promptly by cash or cheque - which means paying a bill within ten days of the date it was issued - saves about £30 a year.

Paying by direct debit is usually still cheaper, but how much cheaper depends on the size of your bill.