Brits Gift £3.9 Billon to Energy Providers
20 Sep, 2011, 13:00 BST
CHESTER, England, September 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
Full round of price hikes from the Big Six adds an average 17.4 per cent to gas bills and 10.8 per cent to electricity bills
Switching energy tariff could save Brits around £313 a year[1]
EDF Energy has the best value tariff in 13 out of 14 UK regions
Bill payers are back on a level playing field as all of the Big Six energy giants have now increased the price of energy for UK consumers. Now this round of price hikes is over gas has increased by an average 17.4 and electricity has increased by an average of 10.8 per cent.[2] Consumers could save almost a quarter (24 per cent) on their energy bills by moving to the best value product, according to moneysupermarket.com, meaning a collective saving of £3.9 billion for households across Britain.[3]
Research from the UK's number one comparison site, shows EDF Energy takes top spot when looking for the best value energy tariff on the market. Its Fix S@ver v2 product isthe top tariff in 13 of the 14 UK energy regions. Bill payers who have never switched away from their traditional energy provider for their region (the incumbent provider) living in the North West for example, currently pay around £1,351.30 a year on a standard tariff paying quarterly by cash or cheque. Switching to EDF Energy Fix S@ver v2 would reduce their bills to £996 per year; a saving of £355, or 26 per cent.[1]
With the Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne promising to 'get tough' with the Big Six and address the difficulty of switching energy tariffs, research reveals that across Britain, households who have never switched could save an impressive £313 a year on average if they were proactive and moved on to the best value deal.[1] If all the households who have never changed their energy tariff moved to the best deal, the country could collectively save £3.9 billion on its energy bills.[2]
Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Bill payers will be reeling from the recent price hikes, yet despite the choice available for both gas and electricity, the majority of UK households are staying loyal to their energy provider and therefore paying way over the odds for their gas and electricity. The latest price increase have added an average to 17.4 per cent to the cost of gas and 10.8 per cent to the cost of electricity, resulting in average annual standard bills of £1,322, now really isn't the time to be apathetic. Those who aren't shopping around for the best deal, are simply burning money; finding the right tariff for your consumption level and region means bill payers could save on average £313 per year."
The best value deals available in the current climate are the fixed price energy deals. Although slightly more expensive than some of the cheapest online tariffs offered by the energy companies, these tariffs provide peace of mind that the cost of energy bills will not increase should there be another spate of price hikes. For example, the cheapest online tariff available is E.ON's Save Online V9 at £982 on average, but, for £1,009 per year on average, EDF Energy's Fix S@ver v2 product offers a safeguard against price hikes until June 2012 for only £27 a year more.[4]
Scott Byrom continued: "Online deals do tend to have the cheapest prices but many are variable and can be increased by the energy companies at any time. With so much uncertainty about whether the cost of energy will to continue to rise, my advice to consumers is to think about taking a fixed energy product and weigh up the peace of mind this type of tariff offers compared to the best price online option. Many of the fixed products share the benefits available with online products such as paying monthly by direct debit to spread the payments and recording actual meter readings with an online account to cut out the need for estimated billing. If households aren't on this kind of deal they really need to act now. The recent increases mean that times are now even tougher, and with the Winter months on the way, bill payers need to act fast to start saving money on their energy bills."
Notes to editors:
Incumbent Vs Best Tariff
Best Value Tariff Incumbent
Incumbent v Best Incumbent
Region Tariff (Fixed) Value v Best
Potential Potential
Saving Saving
Total (GBP) Tariff Bill (GBP) GBP %
EDF
Energy
Fix
Eastern GBP1,339.45 s@ver v2 GBP997.98 GBP341.47 25.49%
EDF
Energy
East Fix
Midlands GBP1,325.83 s@ver v2 GBP993.34 GBP332.49 25.08%
EDF
Energy
Fix
London GBP1,293.38 s@ver v2 GBP1,014.23 GBP279.15 21.58%
EDF
Energy
North Wales Fix
& Liverpool GBP1,373.36 s@ver v2 GBP1,023.47 GBP349.89 25.48%
EDF
Energy
Fix
Midlands GBP1,332.90 s@ver v2 GBP1,003.73 GBP329.17 24.70%
EDF
Energy
Fix
Northern GBP1,327.50 s@ver v2 GBP987.99 GBP339.51 25.58%
EDF
Energy
Fix
North West GBP1,351.30 s@ver v2 GBP995.85 GBP355.45 26.30%
EDF
Energy
North Fix
Scotland GBP1,281.31 s@ver v2 GBP1,032.11 GBP249.20 19.45%
Scottish
Power
Online
fix
South saver
Scotland GBP1,362.71 Dec 12 GBP1,015.23 GBP347.48 25.50%
EDF
Energy
Fix
South East GBP1,296.71 s@ver v2 GBP999.72 GBP296.99 22.90%
EDF
Energy
Fix
Southern GBP1,293.98 s@ver v2 GBP1,016.61 GBP277.37 21.43%
EDF
Energy
Fix
South Wales GBP1,309.13 s@ver v2 GBP1,035.57 GBP273.56 20.90%
EDF
Energy
Fix
South West GBP1,316.35 s@ver v2 GBP1,026.45 GBP289.90 22.02%
EDF
Energy
Fix
Yorkshire GBP1,298.10 s@ver v2 GBP973.23 GBP324.87 25.03%
Average GBP1,321.57 GBP1,008.25 GBP313.32 23.67%
Based on medium usage consumption
Sourced by moneysupermarket.com 19.09.2011
[2] Price rises announced by UK energy companies Summer 2011
Electricity Average
Gas increase increase Standard Date Date
Provider (%) (%) tariff announced effective
Scottish Power 19 10 GBP1,391.21 07/06/2011 01/08/2011
British Gas 18 16 GBP1,286.04 08/07/2011 18/08/2011
Scottish and
Southern 18 11 GBP1,265.00 21/07/2011 14/09/2011
E.ON 18 12 GBP1,254.55 05/08/2011 13/09/2011
npower 16 7 GBP1,289.00 16/08/2011 01/10/2011
EDF Energy 15.4 4.5 GBP1,241.00 15/09/2011 10/11/2011
Average 17.4 10.08 GBP1,287.80
[3]There are 21.6 million homes with both mains gas and electricity to their homes.
Table A.5: Total number of domestic gas and electricity meter points (March 2006)
Fuel Meter points
Gas 21,567,261
Electricity 26,917,561
Source: Electricity distribution companies and gas suppliers
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/Compet/Documents1/DRMR%20March%202007doc%20v9%20-%20FINAL.pdf
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/SocAction/Publications/Documents1/Ipsos-MORI%20switchingsurvey2009.pdf
According to a survey by Ofgem, 58% of gas customers have never switched their supplier while 57% of electricity customers have never switched. Therefore at least 12.3 million households have never switched supplier.
12,293,338 x £313.32 (average potential saving swapping from incumbent to best energy supplier) = £3,851,748,662, or £3.9 billion
[4]Standard / Online / Fixed - New consumption rates
Average
Standard Average Best
Provider Tariff Tariff Fixed Tariff
GBP1,125.42 GBP1,217.41
British Gas
GBP1,286.04 Web Saver 12 Fixed Price June 12
EDF Energy GBP1,009.05 GBP1,009.05
(wef 10th Nov) GBP1,241.00 Fixed S@aver v2 Fixed S@aver v2
GBP982.00 GBP1,189.88
E.ON GBP1,254.55 SaveOnline v9 Fixed Price Apr 13
npower GBP982.51 GBP1,126.52
(wef 1st Oct) GBP1,282.43 Sign Online 23 Go Fix 7
GBP1,190.20 GBP1,020.29
Scottish Power
GBP1,391.21 Online Energy Online Fixed Saver Dec 12
GBP1,142.18 GBP1,142.18
Scottish &
Southern GBP1,265.00 Price Fix 6 Price Fix 6
Average GBP1,287.80 GBP1,071.90 GBP1,117.56
Sourced by MoneySupermarket 19.09.2011
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