PRICE FIXING – TAKING THE HEAT OUT OF ENERGY BILLS

Three major energy suppliers – Scottish Power, British Gas and now Scottish and Southern Energy – have announced big price rises. The other three are bound to follow soon. With rising oil prices and £200 billion of infrastructure to replace or build energy prices in the UK are only going one way – up. What can you do to reduce your share of this bill?

One way is to fix your energy prices now. You will pay a bit more than the cheapest tariff. But you will at least have the peace of mind that there will be no change for the fixed period. Some suppliers will allow you to fix for two years – some are even stretching that to 2014. The only risk you run is that energy prices will fall. There are few guarantees in finance but it is as certain as anything can be that fuel prices will be considerably higher then than they are now.

If you fix you will be locked into that deal and will pay a penalty if you leave early. At least that means you do not have to worry about changing your supplier for a while!

To change your supplier:

1. Go to one of the approved sites listed here www.consumerfocus.org.uk/get-advice/energy/confidence-code
2. You will need to know the name of your supplier and the tariff you are on now – there are thousands so check on line or on your bill so get it precisely right.
3. You will need to know how much gas and electricity you used over a year measured in kilowatt hours (kwh). You can work this out from your bills. Alternatively you can give the total you have spent on each fuel in the last twelve months.

The cheapest deals are generally called ‘dual fuel’ which means you buy both gas and electricity from the same supplier. But in a very few cases you will be able to save a bit more if you buy gas and electricity separately. If you only use electricity it is still worth doing.

You will save money if you pay by monthly direct debit. If you choose this option make sure you always have enough at the due date to meet the monthly cost. It has the disadvantage the company will keep some of your money as you go into credit over the summer. You can always ask for this balance back if you think it is too high.

What you pay for fuel is important. But so is what you use. Think of taking insulation measures before next winter.

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