Energy News

Energy loyalty costs Brits £3.2bn a year

Wednesday 20 April, 2011

By Martin Fagan - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

Switching from your regional provider could save you £265 a year, according to new research.

Brits struggling to pay hefty energy bills could slash them by 25% if they moved to the cheapest available product, according to new research.

Households who have never switched from their current provider’s standard tariff to a better value deal from a rival provider could save an average of £265 a year.

According to the research, if all UK households moved to the best possible deal, the country could collectively save £3.2billion on its energy bills.

British Gas is currently winning the 2011 price war; the research showed its WebSaver 11 product is the best value tariff across 13 out of the 14 UK regions.

For example, a household in the East of England currently paying £1,151 a year on a standard tariff billed quarterly and settled by cash or cheque, switching to British Gas’ WebSaver 11 would reduce their bills by £291, a saving of 25%.

“Despite the greater choice available to consumers for both gas and electricity, the majority of UK households remain with the companies who traditionally provided their gas and electricity,” said Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com, which commissioned the research.

“Anyone still loyal to their incumbent supplier is paying over the odds for their gas and electricity. People are still burning money by not shopping around and switching to cheaper deals. Finding the right tariff for their consumption level and region means Brits could save on average £265 per year.”

According to a survey by energy regulator Ofgem, 58% of gas customers have never switched their supplier while 57% of electricity customers have never switched, which means 12.3 million households have never switched supplier.