Energy Tariffs

Online energy management

Article updated: Friday 22 May, 2009

By becca.talbot@consumerchoices.co.uk

Even if you’re happy with your existing energy supplier and don’t want to switch, you could still make savings and help the environment by taking your account online.

Managing your gas and electricity account online means you’ll be able to take advantage of some of the lowest prices on the market. Read on for more information about online account management...

• Making savings
• What does it involve?
• What do I need for an online account?
• Energy aware
• Compare tariffs
• Save on your energy bills

Making savings

Energy suppliers save themselves a lot of money by cutting down the number of paper bills that are sent out, and every time you enter a meter reading online you’ve saved them the cost of sending out one of their technicians.

Because they stand to save so much through online account management, energy companies are keen to transfer customers onto these increasingly popular plans - often tempting you with financial incentives.

WebSaver 6 from British Gas (www.britishgas.co.uk), offers the supplier's cheapest online energy prices, customers could save up to £73. You will have ease of managing your account online, and it is available for new and existing customers.

What does it involve?

By managing your account over the internet you’ll be able to change payment details any time you want by logging into your online account and you’ll also stop receiving paper bills, and be emailed when your payment is due instead.

You’ll also be able to enter your own meter readings - so you’ll never have to wait around for an engineer to check your gas and electricity meter, or run the risk of overpaying on an estimated bill if they called while you were out.

What do I need for an online account?

All you need to take your gas and electricity bills online is an active internet connection, an email address that you regularly check and a standard credit meter.

Some Economy 7 customers and anyone using a prepayment meter will have to have a standard credit meter installed before they can get move to an online energy tariff.

Energy aware

Entering your own meter readings has also been proven to make you more aware of the amount of energy that you actually use.

Keep a note of your meter reading after a month of your normal energy use, then try to make a conscious effort to turn lights off when you leave the room, switch appliances off at the plug rather than leaving them on standby and turn your thermostat down a couple of degrees. When you next enter your meter reading online, you’ll be able to see exactly how much you’ve saved.

Read our energy efficiency guide for more tips on how to save energy.

Compare tariffs

By switching to a paperless, online tariff where you pay by monthly direct debit, you’ll be able to take advantage of the biggest discounts and make the biggest savings - more than £200 on some tariffs.

Compare online energy tariffs >>>

Save on your energy bills

Comparing and switching is quick and easy when you use the EnergyChoices.co.uk calculator

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