Households save hundreds when switching

Shopping around and switching suppliers is confirmed to lead to significant savings after a government programme saved 130,000 homes a combined £38 million, according to The Energy Advice Line.

Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for energy users, said consumers who doubted the benefits of changing suppliers should heed the findings of the programme.

The DECC said 350,000 people had visited its website in the month after the launch, and 130,000 households had switched energy supplier. This was 80% more than over the same period the year before.

Capacity market scheme: a waste of money?

What is it?
The 'capacity market' scheme has been set up between the government and energy companies to keep power stations on standby for times when demand peaks.

But how does it affect me?
The government have published a report stating that by paying the energy companies to cover this, each household will see bills increase around £38 in 2018 - a total of £3bn.

Why has this been set up?
“Our top priority is ensuring that families and businesses have a secure, affordable, clean energy supply, which they can rely on now and into the future.” said a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Energy companies have been closing their doors due to the drop in wholesale prices meaning that the stations are no longer commercially viable.

Why haven't I heard about it?
With so many elections going on across the country the report published by the government has gone relatively unnoticed. The report can be viewed here.

Are there any benefits?
Energy companies claim that this will help to beat the rise of prices when the wholesale market changes. The DECC has claimed this will effectively save households an average of £48 in 2018.

So will I save? Or will I spend?
It's hard to say at this point, with the market always changing, as we find out more the position in the market will be clearer. The best way to try and combat this is to ensure that when your renewal period comes along you're paying the most competitive prices. These can be found at energyadviceline.org.uk - and we even do the hard work of switching for you.

Cuts to government efficiency scheme

Programmes helping households to save on their heating bills have faced significant cut backs since 2012. These cuts have seen a drastic fall in the numbers of houses receiving help to warm their homes - statistics show that the figures have fallen by 75%.

Research conducted by the Association for Conservation of Energy (ACE) has shown that efficiency schemes has fallen by 80% since 2012 from 1.74 million, to just 340,000 in 2016. A previous fall was rescued by the introduction of the Green Deal and the energy companies obligation (ECO) - the former has since been abandoned with the government citing that the take up was 'too low'.

Julian Morgan, managing director of the switching service Energy Advice Line, said that this behaviour was unacceptable.

"More needs to be done to help homes, as it does businesses, to help people understand their energy bills, make sense of the tariff, and find out where cut backs can be made in order to start making some significant savings.

"What a lot of people don't realise is that while savings start by switching supplier, it's this colder time of year that bills peak and users need to be more conscious of where they should be making cut backs."

A spokeswoman for the DECC said: “This government is serious about making vulnerable people’s homes warmer and keeping energy bills low. That is why we are increasing support for those who need it most – the fuel-poor and vulnerable – whilst reducing the impact on people’s energy bills by cutting support for those able to pay.”

Meanwhile, the Energy Bill Revolution, an alliance of 200 organisations and businesses, said the blame for the “devastation” to the country’s home energy efficiency programme lay with Chancellor George Osborne.

If you want to find out more about how your energy bill works, and get independent, impartial advice on how to reduce your energy spend; contact energyadviceline.org.uk

£200 can be saved by switching alone

The Energy Advice Line has welcomed the findings of a top-level probe that has found consumers can save around £200 a year by switching energy supplier.

But Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for energy users, said it was crucial for the government to work out why some consumers were failing to switch, thereby losing out on savings.

An analysis of energy bills by the Department of Energy & Climate Change’s (DECC) Domestic Fuel Enquiry has found that 13.5 million households in the UK are losing out on a total of £2.7 billion by staying loyal to their supplier.

Confirmed: Shopping Around Saves £38m

Shopping around and switching suppliers is confirmed to lead to significant savings after a government programme saved 130,000 homes a combined £38 million, according to The Energy Advice Line.

Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for energy users, said consumers who doubted the benefits of changing suppliers should heed the findings of the programme.

The four-week Power To Switch campaign, launched by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on February 16, urged people to switch energy companies and save money.

The DECC said 350,000 people had visited its website in the month after the launch, and 130,000 households had switched energy supplier. This was 80% more than over the same period the year before.

Bill Analysis Shows Consumers Could Save £200 By Switching

The Energy Advice Line has welcomed the findings of a top-level probe that has found consumers can save around £200 a year by switching energy supplier.

But Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for energy users, said it was crucial for the government to work out why some consumers were failing to switch, thereby losing out on savings.

An analysis of energy bills by the Department of Energy & Climate Change’s (DECC) Domestic Fuel Enquiry has found that 13.5 million households in the UK are losing out on a total of £2.7 billion by staying loyal to their supplier.

The figures were revealed as part of the Government’s Power to Switch Campaign to encourage the public to change suppliers.