This week we look at the shocking recent hikes in gas prices and what you can do to minimise the damage to your bank account. Unless you live on the moon (in which case you won’t be a customer of British Gas anyway) it won’t have escaped your notice that the company last week unveiled one of the price rise shockers of all time – a 35 per cent jump in gas prices.
So big is the increase that everybody missed the fact they also put up electricity by 9.4 per cent … which at any other time would have been headline news. It means anyone on a dual fuel deal will see prices rise by 25 per cent. And this comes just six months after BG raised dual fuel prices by 16 per cent. Fuel prices have now more than doubled over the last four years, and there’s more to come. Analysts reckon there is likely to be another 20 per cent rise at the beginning of 2009. And while British Gas are the current villains, they are likely only to be the first of many this summer. EDF Energy has already announced rises of 22 per cent, and there is sure to be more.
Okay, that’s the bad news … so what can you do about it. Well there’s not much point switching just now – though that would be our usual advice. As the other companies are going to be upping their prices you could end up with a worse deal. Far better to go for a fixed or capped deal. It may well cost you more in the short term but long term you are protected against further price rises. Head to uswitch.com where you can compare the best of the fixed and capped fuel deals. But we’d advise you to hurry as the relatively cheap fixes are starting to disappear as the companies anticipate future rises in the price of wholesale gas.
At time of writing, the cheapest fixed tariff on the market was from EDF, though this is likely to change fast. This fixes the price you pay for electricity and gas until October 2009. British Gas, meanwhile, is offering a fix until 2011, though at a slightly higher per unit rate.
It’s also worth looking at switching to a dual fuel deal if you don’t currently have one, as some suppliers offer incentives to switch. Moneysupermarket.com pays you £30 to switch to dual fuel and Energyhelpline.com pays £15. Bear in mind though that these discounts will be dwarfed by the actual size of your bill – it’s important that you look at the overall cost, rather than being seduced by signup incentives.
The other side, of course, is simply to use less of the stuff. We’re horribly wasteful of domestic energy in Britain – all those twinkling LEDs on your TVs and computers at night represent energy being burnt away. Turn off all those standby lights and you could save around 5 per cent a year on your electricity bill.
Remember to run the washing machine at 40deg rather than 60deg. And to save on gas heating bills, turn the thermostat down. Knocking it down 1 degree C can save an astonishing 10 per cent on your bills. Set the heating to come on later in the morning and click off earlier at night. Ensure your loft is adequately insulated, and investigate grants for cavity wall insulation. And finally, to take my old mum’s advice. Don’t turn on the fire, put on a jumper! It could be the easiest way to save money you’ll find all year!
Tags: Protect yourself against rising energy prices, Energy prices, rising energy prices, how to save energy costs, lowering energy costs
