There’s never been a better time to switch energy suppliers if you think you are not getting the best deal. 

That’s because all the suppliers have recently hiked their rates, so you are able to compare like with like. It doesn’t mean that prices won’t rise again in future, but it does mean that you can at least make a fair comparison before the next bout of price changes – either up or down. If you try to switch in the middle of a round of price increases, you may find that, as soon as you have moved to a new supplier, it too ups its prices, leaving you even worse off than before.

Switching is easy. The best way to find out if you are getting a good deal is to use a price comparison service.

You simply enter a few details, such as where you live (to locate the suppliers in your area) and the amount you currently spend on fuel, plus a few more details (you will be told on screen what you need to enter and why), and the calculator will come up with a range of options to save you money. You pick the one you want and everything else is taken care of automatically.

The switch will take about a month or six weeks to come through, and on the day of the switch you need to take a meter reading to give to your new supplier, so that you are not billed twice for the same consumption.

Easy ways to save

Change the way you pay

The easiest way to save money on fuel bills has nothing to do with how much fuel you use, but the way you pay.

The most expensive way to pay is by prepay meter, as the fuel companies charge you at a higher rate if you have one of these. Research has shown that people with prepayment meters are paying up to £173 a year more for gas and up to £113 more for electricity than quarterly billed (standard credit) consumers.

If you have a meter in your house simply because it was there when you moved in, it may be possible to get it changed. If it was installed because you have had credit problems, you may be stuck with it – nearly three-quarters of gas prepayment meters and half of those for electricity are installed by suppliers to recover a debt. However, the good news is that consumer champion Energywatch, backed by a coalition of charities and consumer organizations, is campaigning for the equalisation of prices. So if they succeed you may find your bills come down anyway.