Suppliers | Cheaper Gas & Electricity Bills

March 8, 2010

Getting better gas deals in UK: a gas suppliers comparison

Filed under: Cheaper Utility bills — Tags: Better, comparison, deals, Getting, Suppliers — admin @ 11:33 pm

There are more than half a dozen of major gas suppliers in UK like British Gas, E.ON, EDF Energy etc and equal no. of smaller ventures like Green Energy and EBI Co. Although gas prices have been rocketing high for quite some time, few of the top retailers have really brought their tariff down. Below is a list of some of UK’s most important players in gas retailing and their new revised tariff rates:

Company

Sub Brands/Tariff Names

In effect from

Ave. main tariff CHANGE (1)

Gas

Major Companies’ and their Tariffs

British Gas

Scottish Gas, Nwy Prydain

(19/02/09) 07/05/09

(-10%)

E.ON

Staywarm ( not included in price cuts)

(31/03/09) 03/07/09

-3.3%

npower

Juice

31/03/09

Scottish power

Manweb

31/03/09

-7.5%

EDF Energy

London Energy, SEEBOARD SWEB Energy

31/03/09

Scottish & Southern Energy

Atlantic, SWALEC, Scottish Hydro

30/03/09

-4%

Smaller Companies’ and their Tariffs

EBI Co

Equi-Power, Equi-Gas

30/03/09

-2.5%

Utilita

03/09/08

+49.8%

Utility Warehouse

01/04/09

-2.3%

Excepting a few gas suppliers like Utilita and Ecotricity, all other companies have brought down their charges. Utilita eventually turns out to be the biggest choker with an increase of almost 50% in gas prices . People can opt for better deals by switching suppliers while being simultaneously well aware that fuel prices do have seasonal fluctuations. Some websites provide great comparison tools which can help one to decide on a particular retailer. Some switching agencies also give cash-back offers which might just help in saving a few extra pounds. Agencies like Energyhelpline*, Energylinx*, UKPower* give a cash-back offer of £ 15 per switch. There are also many others who come up with different offers from time to time. Although the home gas prices are low, it has been claimed that the low-carbon transition plan by the government which was launched earlier this month, could have a significant effect on business gas bills.

Whatever be the current charges over gas consumption ,one cannot afford to waste energy as conservation is also a form of savings. Avoiding overheating or overcooking of food and water are just some of the small measures which would help in saving energy and minimize heedless wastage. British Gas can be commended as a gas supplier for opening a new skills centre in Wales which will train people in how to install energy-saving technologies. Hope others will also follow suite.

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February 15, 2010

Gas Suppliers: Guide to find the appropriate supplier

Filed under: Cheaper Utility bills — Tags: appropriate, find, guide, supplier, Suppliers — admin @ 9:10 am

No gas supplier has gained monopoly in UK market. Major energy providers experience intense and agonising competition among themselves. In 1996, European Union started deregulating Gas Suppliers Large number of consumers switch their energy suppliers everyday. Prime motive behind such enormous shifting is to save precious money. But switching does not guarantee profits and probability of suffering a loss is very genuine and realistic. Results of any switch are influenced by the associated time of shifting. Timing the switch accurately deliver huge profits and satisfactory results. Certain ground rules play a key role in determining the precise time for switching the suppliers. Every energy provider tries to offer low prices by making appropriate modifications. Large amendments made by any supplier often attract others to follow and make suitable modifications. Hence best offers are captured when energy market is inactive and dormant to any possible fluctuations. Switching during winters is more effective than during summers. Logic behind this inference being that consumption during winters is more when compared to summer months. Therefore months of maximum consumption are charged at lowest prices available in the market.

Finding the best gas suppliers require thorough comparison based on many factors. Important among those are the type of fuel, mode of payment and availability of supplier in the area. Dual fuel is cheaper than energy bought individually. Buying electricity along with the gas from same supplier saves great amount of money over long run. Suppliers offer dual fuel at different prices to attract users. Consumers buying dual fuel should compare its prices instead of individual gas and electricity cost. Many modes of payment are utilised to submit gas bills. Preferred modes by the suppliers attract large discounts on the prices. Internet tariff and fixed direct debit monthly payment are two examples of preferred forms of payment. Internet tariff refers to making energy payments online. Suppliers find it convenient as unnecessary paper work and courier problems are avoided. They encourage internet tariff by offering additional discounts on the net amount. Fixed direct debit monthly payment is making payments using a fixed amount which is calculated based on previous bills. Any debit or credit is adjusted at the end of financial year. Over-billing and under-billing are the two possibilities associated with this mode of payment. Over-billing is unnecessarily blocking the money while under-billing puts financial pressure towards the end of financial year. But suppliers offer excellent discounts on it as a fixed income is ensured for the supplier.

Proper and accurate comparison along with accurate timing of switch are the prerequisites for finding the appropriate gas suppliers. Following certain ground rules help in accomplishing these requirements and deliver excellent financial results.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

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January 11, 2010

Gas Suppliers Stockpile Consumers Cash

Filed under: Cheaper Utility bills — Tags: Cash, Consumers, Stockpile, Suppliers — admin @ 5:28 am

Have you checked your gas bill against your direct debit recently? According to research by moneysupermarket.com, gas suppliers are estimated to be stockpiling £490m of their customers’ money due to the delays in adjusting payment amounts for direct debit customers. Suppliers are believed to be only checking systems every six months, leading the way to an overpayment in excess of £100, as found in one of eight of the 2407 research participants.

Mish Tullar, Director of media relations at British Gas was quick to reject these findings, saying: “We are not sitting on a big cash windfall”, continuing to point out that their customers were on average £60 in debit and not overpaying.

Many people within the industry believe that whilst suppliers such as British Gas are offering cheap gas, they are too slow in reacting to the changes when it comes to customer payments. Particularly Powergen, who on average had the most cash “on float” at around £78 per household.

A new argument that is emerging is that of winter payments, when accounts are most likely to be in debit. This means a solution is needed to ensure good cash flow for suppliers, whilst recovering this debt from its customers. By placing the £490m in a typical business bank account, gas companies are likely to be earning £24.5m of revenue per annum.

So what can be done to ensure you don’t continue to give even more money away? Contact your supplier and discuss your current tariff and average bills. They should be able to give you this information over the phone and come up with a satisfactory amount for direct debit.

Gary Parsons is a UK based writer with experience in the utilities industry.

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January 10, 2010

Gas and Electricity Suppliers: Easily Accessible Using Websites

Filed under: Cheaper Utility bills — Tags: Accessible, Easily, Electricity, Suppliers, Using, Websites — admin @ 9:22 am

A trip to the supplier, is never a pleasant one. There are lots of annoying factors which are are to be encountered. All those factors are no longer the reasons for ‘frowns’ and ‘scowls’. Those facial expressions have been eradicated with the emergence of websites who give information about utility services providers.

The gas and electricity suppliers are one of the major utilities which are used on a mass-usage manner. After all everybody needs gas to cook their food and electricity to light their houses. With the emergence of websites providing the information about these utilities, the need to go to suppliers is no more a need at all. It is in fact now an option.

There are many websites which act as information providers about utility services. These websites apart from informing the user about this wonderful new feature, also give many other services. One of them is the provision of detailed instructions about the proper steps that should be taken for using a different supplier and discontinue the usage of the present one.

These websites give tools for determining the proper utility services provider. They also give useful advise about the proper steps to be taken in order to determine many associated services of the basic utility.

There are many benefits of accessing the services of these websites. One of them is the feature of information being given about gas and electricity suppliers in an online manner. Another one lies in the facility of online advise and is one which is quite useful for choosing the correct supplier. Yet another major feature is the feature of getting an idea about the prices of the services being given by different gas and electricity suppliers.

Therefore, the person is able to have an idea about the cost that has resulted from the usage of the service. On most of the websites which give information about gas and electricity suppliers, this is a feature which is present. It is present in the form of the consumer being able to know about his monthly gas-bill or electricity-bill. Hence, these websites are one of the most useful resources for human beings. They provide high quality information about the things of daily usage.

Andrew Peterson is a professional writer, presently working for online comparison shopping store. He is writing on various products and services, like cheap broadband service providers, gas and electricity providers, mobile phones and many others.

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January 9, 2010

Gas Suppliers – Saving Tips

Filed under: Cheaper Utility bills — Tags: saving, Suppliers, Tips — admin @ 1:51 pm

Natural gas has been the fuel of choice for the UKs energy requirements for over 27 years now; this is reflected in the fact that we are the worldâs third largest consumer of natural gas.

With both usage and prices on the increase itâs vital that every homeowner is aware of steps they can take to make their homesâ as efficient as possible.

The most obvious way to save money on gas bills is to use less, what may not be as obvious though, is just how much you can save. Simply putting on a jumper and turning your thermostat down a few degrees could save you up to 10% on your bill!

As warm air naturally flows to cooler areas, itâs vital your house has adequate insulation. Places that require the most insulation are attics and areas above unheated rooms (e.g. garages, basement).

Drawing your curtains during the colder months and at night is a simple method to help keep a considerable amount of heat in.

As a great deal of heat is lost through windows and doors, double glazing is an excellent preventative measure to take. Although expensive to implement, they can make a considerable difference to the amount of heat you retain, and thus gas saved.

If you suspect your heating system may not be as efficient as it should then itâs advisable to get a CORGI registered engineer to come and check your gas suppliers central heating system.

All of the above will help make your home more âefficientâ, you may however, still be paying through the teeth from your current gas suppliers. Moving to a new gas suppliers may therefore be an excellent way to ensure you are getting the best deal available.

Liam is a UK based writer.

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