CHEAPEST AVAILABLE ENERGY TARIFFS Are ON AVERAGE £302 LOWER THAN THE ENERGY PRICE CAP
- £302 average savings for those who switch from a standard variable or default tariff to the most competitive fixed or variable rate tariffs
- Cheapest fixed rate or variable tariffs have risen by £20 in the last month; households urged to switch now or miss out on ultra-low prices
4th August 2020 – New research from comparethemarket.com reveals that switching to one of the most competitive fixed or variable rate tariffs on the market people could save households an average of £302 a year.
Ahead of the energy price cap level revision on 7th August, where it will be announced by how much the cap will change from its current ceiling of £1,127 on the 1st October, comparethemarket.com’s new Energy Price Cap Update shows that the average price for the top 20 cheapest available tariffs on the market is £825 – meaning people could be £302 better off by switching provider rather than rolling onto an SVT.
Since the introduction of the current price cap level on the 1st April, prices in the market have dropped to the lowest level in three years, with the average cheapest available dual fuel tariff now costing £798. However, prices have been rising slowly since then, with average cheapest tariffs climbing almost £20, or 2.4%, in the last month.
The price gap between the most competitively priced fixed and variable tariffs and the prices charged to those on standard variable or default tariffs, means that the 11 million* customers stuck on an SVT are collectively missing out on a combined average saving of £3.3 billion by not switching to a competitively priced tariff.
In order to help people avoid rolling onto a SVT, comparethemarket.com customers can also sign up to automated switching service AutoSergei, to receive regular alerts when a cheaper tariff becomes available to them, as well as getting a notification when their fixed deal is about to expire.
Peter Earl, head of energy, at comparethemarket.com, said:
“The energy price cap is clearly a rip off compared to the best value deals on the market. Whether the regulator decides to raise or lower the cap will not make significant difference to those households on a standard variable tariff who will continue to pay over-the-odds for their energy.
“We have recently seen the cheapest deals reach temptingly low-price levels, so switching supplier sooner rather than later means you won’t miss out on high savings. The price cap should not be seen as a ‘good’ price to pay for energy; if you can’t remember the last time you switched, or have never done so, you are likely paying hundreds of pounds more a year to your energy supplier than you need to.”