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Switch utility supplier

Why switch gas and electricity supplier?

The last few years have seen a media frenzy over gas and electricity price changes. UK consumers have been presented with huge price increases by utility suppliers, resulting in higher annual bills than people have ever had to pay before. All of the top utility companies have featured regularly in the headlines, including EDF, E.ON, npower and British Gas - along with smaller utility providers. On the plus side, there have also sometimes been price cuts.

Simply by changing your choice of which company bills you for your gas and electricity and/or the kind of price plan you're on, you could save literally hundreds of pounds a year off your utility bills. It need only take a few minutes and it can all be done online. Options include standard, online, fixed rate and capped tariffs and other specialist price plans.

Gas and electricity supplier price comparison & switching services:
Energy Helpline	uSwitch	Which? Switch
Gas and electricity suppliers:
British Gas	EDF Energy	npower
Scottish Power	Scottish and Southern Energy
Central heating cover (can be from a different company to your gas supplier):
British Gas HomeCare

But gas and electricity are so boring

There's no use pretending that gas and electricity are anything other than "grudge purchases". Like petrol or mortgage / rent payments, they're boring products and we resent how much we have to spend on them.

But that doesn't mean you should accept paying more than you need to. Homes and businesses on mains supply get the same actual electricity and gas regardless of which company does the billing. And from your perspective as a consumer, that's all the supplier is - the company responsible for managing the process of billing you for the electricity and gas that your home or business uses.

What does switching supplier involve?

The process of changing electricity or gas supplier doesn't involve changing any pipes, wires or meters. There's no interruption to your supply, either. For the supply companies, it's simply a matter of transferring responsibility between themselves for reading your meters, issuing your bills and collecting your payments.

You just need to decide who you want to switch to, which will depend largely on whose tariffs / price plans you prefer. In most cases, you can complete the whole application process online in just a few minutes.

Usually, the cheapest tariffs are those where you pay by monthly direct debit, so when you're ready to switch supplier you'll need your bank account details to hand (direct debits can be set up safely and securely online, without having to fill in any forms).

Choosing a new electricity and gas supplier

In order to get quotes from alternative utility suppliers, you'll generally just need to enter your postcode and an indication of your gas and electricity usage, which you can either estimate or get from your old bills.

It will probably prove cheaper to buy both gas and electricity from a single supplier, as they tend to offer extra discounts specifically to encourage this. However, if you prefer to split the products between two different companies, that's equally simple and easy to do - just apply for gas or electricity only.

Online price plans often offer extra savings, reflecting the savings for the energy supplier from not having to issue paper bills by post. In return, you may need to manage your account online, including submitting regular meter readings and viewing / printing off your bills.

How much did you save?

If you found this article helpful and have reduced your utility bills as a result, why not tell others about it in the forum? Your feedback might encourage someone else to switch supplier!

Discuss gas and electricity supplier switching in the forum

Captain Consumer, 12 Feb 2006. Last updated 22 Nov 2011.