Martin Lewis – compare before buying Big Six prices
21st April 2018 | Residential Energy
The energy providers have taken the opportunity when we’re thinking about better weather to hike their prices for gas and electricity, so now would be a good time to switch.
The weather’s warming up, and the last thing on anyone’s mind are energy bills. That means the energy firms have got you just where they want you – it’s the perfect opportunity for them pump up prices, and they’re doing just that. The only way to stop this is to get up off your backside and take them on.
We live in a world where the do-somethings get far cheaper prices than the do-nothings. So it’s time to do something. Someone with typical bills on a bog standard tariff right now can easily save more than £300 a year.
So what price hikes are happening:
1 British Gas: The first big announcement what from British Gas – it’s putting up both gas and electricity prices for those on its standard tariff by an average 5.5 per cent on 29 May. This is equivalent to around £60 added on top of a typical annual bill.
2 EDF Energy: On the tails of British Gas’ announcement, EDF snuck in to say it would increase its standard price on electricity by 2.7 per cent (gas prices won’t change) on 7 June, equivalent to around £16 on a typical annual bill.
3 Eon Energy: This is what I call a backdoor price hike, not announced like the others, because its energy rates won’t change, but none the less what it is doing increases your price. On 19 April, it ditched some “dual fuel” (ie gas and electric) discounts and upped some standing charges – equivalent to an average rise of £22 per year.
So that’s three who’ve announced at the time of writing, yet energy firms often bleat like sheep and follow the herd, especially when British Gas leads. So by the time you’ve read this, more may have announced hikes. It’s not quite definite this time though, because even after this rise, British Gas’ standard tariff isn’t quite the most expensive. Yet as British Gas has faced the full flak, I suspect the others know if they sneak in soon, they’ll get less of a hit.
More information available on the website below
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/martin-lewis-compare-before-paying-big-6-prices-1-4727897