Energy News

North-South energy price divide

Wednesday 1 June, 2011

By Martin Fagan - martin@consumerchoices.co.uk

People in the South pay less for their energy but Brits miss out on £2bn by not switching supplier.

Energy customers in the North of the UK are still paying more for their domestic fuel than those in the South, according to a new nationwide survey.

The study said that by languishing on standard tariffs and not switching to cheaper internet deals, Brits are missing out on more than £2billion in energy savings.

Those in the Scottish Lowlands - covering Glasgow and Edinburgh - are paying the most with a typical gas and electricity bill costing £1,192.

The cheapest area is South Wales, where the typical dual fuel bill is £1,132, closely followed by the Scottish Highlands which, ironically, is right next to the most expensive region, the Scottish Lowlands.

Energyhelpline.com, which carried out the research, said people in the most expensive part of the country are paying £60 more a year on a typical bill than those in the cheapest area - simply because many stay with the region’s default energy supplier.

"There is a distinct North-South divide on energy prices in the UK which is related to the loyalty of customers by region,” said Mark Todd, director of Energyhelpline.com.

“Northern customers tend to be more loyal, while Southerners tend to switch more. It's therefore not surprising that Northerners tend to end up paying through the nose."

Todd said that, despite energy companies pulling many of their cheapest tariffs in recent months - dramatically reducing the number of deals in the market - customers can still make big savings by switching suppliers.

“Consumers must act now if they want to protect themselves against a rise in residential prices and leave their suppliers standard tariff for a fixed or online one,” he advised.