How to get cheaper gas and electricity bills

Since the UK energy suppliers market was de-regulated in 1999 you have the ability to shop around to find the cheapest gas and electricity supplier that's right for you. And it's very simple to do so.

Whereas before you had to use the supplier that operated in your region you now have much more flexibility and can change who you buy your gas and electricity from very easily indeed. In essence, there are three main steps to finding and switching to a cheaper energy provider.

So, here are the three main steps...

1. Find out what supplier and package you're currently using
2. Compare your current provider with the others in the market to find the cheapest
3. Go through the swiching process and move to the new provider

These steps are very simple and just by investing an hour or so as a one-off you could be saving a significant amount of money every year.

Let's go through each of these steps in order.

Step 1 - Your current supplier and package

In order to find out what different suppliers will charge for your gas and electricity and how much you could save you need to find out how much you're using, and what you're paying for it at the moment. But don't worry, this is very simple to do and only take a few minutes.

Grab hold of the most recent gas or electricity bill you can find. This will tell you the supplier you're currently using; such as British Gas, E.ON, N-Power etc, approximately how much you're using and the tarriff that you're on.

Hey Presto - you've got everything you need in one place.

As your gas and electricity bill is most likely based on estimated usage it may be that what you're actually using is different from the estimate. A good way to get an up-to-date idea of your usage is to call your current supplier with your current meter reading and ask them to calculate your usage for you. Make a note of this as it's useful info for the next step.

Step 2 - Compare the energy market to find the cheapest

This sounds much more difficult that it is as there are lots of gas and electricity energy comparison companies out there that will look after this for you.

Below is a list of UK energy switching companies for you to choose from:

• U Switch
• Energy Helpline
• Money Supermarket
• UK Power

These companies work by taking your energy usage info (as you gathered in step 1) and then calculating the prices that other suppliers that operate in your area would charge on their energy tarriffs. They can then present these to you and, should you wish, help you proceed with the transfer to the new, cheaper gas and/or electricity provider.

These energy comparison websites and companies do not generally charge for their service but instead get paid a commission from the company that you change to, assuming that you decide to make the switch through them.

Although the energy companies pay the comparison company a commission, there should be no difference in price to you compared to if you had dealt directly. With this in mind it's definitely worth switching with the energy comparison company if they find a deal that you're happy with as they can help you through the process and are on your side if you have any questions along the way. These companies may also have access to special tarriffs that you can't always get when dealing directly with the energy company themselves.

One thing to ask the comparison company that you're working with is whether there are any energy companies which they don't provide prices/quotes for as if this is the case it may be worth calling them directly and getting a quote from them as well for comparison.

Step 3 - Make the switch and save

The process of switching should be quite straightforward and there are thousands of people that make the switch every week. If you're using an energy comparison service then they will usually look after the entire process for you. If you're dealing with a gas or electricity supplier directly they will usually have a standard process that they follow for notifying the supplier that you are leaving and moving everything accross to them.

You may find that when your current energy supplier is told that you're moving away that you receive letters and/or phone calls from them trying to persuade you to stay. They may have an offer that's worth considering however don't be swayed from switching unless they can beat your current price. The sales people from the energy companies can be very persuasive so don't let them get the better of you.

Don't forget, there is no fee for switching energy provider and you can always switch back if/when things change.

Conclusion

Once you've been through the process of switching electricity or switching gas provider you'll realise how easy it is and wonder why you didn't do it before. There are great savings to be had and it's well worth it.

I'd recommend checking what you're paying and whether there is a better deal to be had quite regularly as the gas and electricity suppliers change their tarriffs quite regularly and it may be a better deal has come along.

I hope that you've found this post useful. If so, please post a comment and let me know your experiences when switching your gas and electricity energy supplier.