British Gas Energy Smart Tariff Review

British Gas have recently introduced their energy smart tariff that says goodbye to estimated bills but just how does it work? Here’s our review.

The new British Gas Energy Smart tariff helps you manage your electricity bills by providing you with as much information as you need so you can see exactly what energy you are using at any one time.

The best part of this is that you will receive an electronic energy smart monitor that you install in your home so you can see exactly what electricity you are using in real time. This also means you’ll know what your bill is going to be when it is delivered to your door.

You can also manage all of this from your online account. You can submit meter readings and these are taken from your account each month via direct debit so there are no estimated bills any more and because of this your energy costs are spread over the months rather than having unexpected huge bills to pay.

British Gas estimate that the average customer can save up to £110 per year by using this service and they will also provide you with handy tips to cut your electricity usage. There’s also a £40 discount if you apply for their dual fuel tariff.

Many of British Gas Tariffs are some of the best value on the market. Not all of their tariff options are available under this scheme but the following are:

• Online saver (3% discount from standard tariff)
• Track and save
• Standard tariff
• Zero carbon tariff
• Future energy tariff

In fact the only tariff not available under the energy smart scheme is the websaver tariff (which provides a 6% discount over their standard tariff). But with the smart monitor to show you what energy you are using you should be able to save this amount many times over if you monitor what energy you are using.

How do I get the Energy Smart Tariff?

This is the easy part whether you are a new customer to British Gas or an existing customer. It’s available for electric only supply or their dual fuel tariff (with a further £40 discount) and you can move to this tariff online. For existing customers you simply put in your account number and log into your account and choose a new tariff. For new customers you can sign up online. Of course you can call their telephone call centre and they will make all the necessary changes for you.

Our view – is it worth it?

With electricity and energy prices increasing and with the government putting more effort into reducing carbon emissions in the UK saving energy has to be the way forward and with this scheme and the free energy monitor this would be a great asset for any household. We say check out the pricing for the British Gas energy smart scheme and see firstly if their tariffs beat your current supplier or are at least close. If so, we would switch and be able to not only monitor our electricity usage in real time but also never get another estimated bill again.