Energy News

Brits miss out on energy savings

Friday 23 January, 2009

By becca.talbot@consumerchoices.co.uk

Only 15% of households in Britain have switched energy supplier over the last 12 months according to a survey by Which?

A massive 85% of customers didn’t switch energy suppliers last year, despite record gas and electricity price rises. The findings came from a survey of more than 6,088 British households, carried out by consumer watchdog Which?.

Customers who hadn’t switched said it was because they thought it wouldn’t save them much money. However, figures from energy regulator Ofgem have shown you could save more than £100 by switching your energy supplier.

Of those customers who did change suppliers, 90% found it easy to switch, and most used a price comparison website. The most popular reason for switching was price.

Alison Morrison from Which? said: “There’s no doubt that 2009 is going to be a tough financial year and we’re all looking at ways to cut our spending, particularly as the winter energy bills start arriving.” She then warned: “People shouldn’t bank on energy companies cutting their prices by as much as they increased them.”

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Chris Eagle, commercial manager at EnergyChoices.co.uk said: “The potential for an extra £250 in your pocket is a great incentive to change your energy provider or tariff, and help get 2009 off on a sound financial footing. Use our energy calculator to see how much you could save by switching.”

He continued: “Customers can also make savings without switching supplier, by changing to an online tariff, paying by monthly direct debit or by choosing a dual fuel tariff, where gas and electricity is provided by the same supplier.”

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