How to Change Electricity Supplier and Save Money
If you are thinking of changing electricity suppliers to find a different tariff to reduce costs then here’s our easy to use guide to do just that for your home utility bills.
It is estimated that over 50% of homeowners in the UK have higher than expected electricity costs because they are on the basic standard tariff from their supplier which have some of the highest prices in the market place. Each energy company has basically the same pricing for their standard prices but it’s the offers and discounts that make changing electricity supplier or by switching to another deal with your current electricity company a task worth taking.
The most expensive options
If you are on a standard pricing tariff and pay your paper bill by cheque or cash then you are paying the most for your electricity and gas supplies. You may not actually have to change electricity supplier to save money just by looking through comparison websites may show that you have the right supplier but you are not on the right deal for your circumstances. You also may not have to sign up to a long contract (as some have exit penalties) and just by making a few tweaks can save you £300 or more per year.
Make instant savings with a few tweaks
Even if you find the thought of changing suppliers daunting here are a few tips you can do right away to save between 10% and 20% on your annual utility bills
- Pay by direct debit – although some companies demand you pay by direct debit to get some of the best deals by opting to pay by monthly direct debit on your current tariff from your current provider can save you upwards of 6%. This simple change is worth undertaking and you can find the links on any energy company website. They will work out a monthly charge based on your previous consumption and deduct the discount off each of your bills. (be aware that some companies ask you to stay on their tariffs for 12 months, but most do not – just check the terms of your contract).
- Manage your account online– all the major energy companies allow you to do this and there are special online tariffs as well. Almost all the best deals are available online but also by managing your account over the internet will also enable you to key in your own meter readings so that your bills are never estimated. The British Gas scheme is called energy smart and is a great way to manage your utility costs and there are additional discounts for doing this as well.
Finding the best deal online
As we said above the best prices for electricity and gas are to be found online either directly from the energy companies websites or via a price comparison website. Here are our tips to get the best prices :
- Know your real consumption data – all tariffs are different – some have daily standard charges, some have different rates once you go over a certain consumption level each month so it’s important that you have very accurate billing or energy usage information to key into the quoting systems otherwise the prices you are given will not reflect your actual reality
- Think about contract length – some of the best discounted deals ask you to commit to the utility company for a period of time, normally just over 12 months, so if you are thinking of moving home soon it’s probably best not to sign up to these otherwise you may find you have to pay an exit penalty of some kind
- Try several sites – although the prices quoted should be the same on all comparison websites and the energy companies’ sites there may be special introductory incentives by switching on a particular day. So it’s worth surfing through a few. All you need is your postcode and billing/ energy usage data so it won’t take much time.
Switching is really easy
There’s no need to be loyal to one company over another and they all want your business. You can sign up to a new deal online and the new company will do all the switching process for you. So if you were thinking of switching providers then why not undertake a comparison today to change electricity supplier and save money in the process.