Govt. says millions of households could save up to £200 a year on energy bill if they switch supplier (to Extra Energy)

Millions of households across the UK could save up to £200 off their energy bills by switching their supplier in favour of Birmingham-based Extra Energy, according to the government.

Based on Ofgem’s “typical domestic consumption” household annual usage (3,100 kWh electricity and 12,500 kWh for gas) the Dept for Energy (DECC) estimate that of the total 18 million UK households who use gas and do not have a pre-payment meter, well over half of these (14 million households – all with both gas and electricity supply) could save over £200 a year or more by switching to the best deal on the market – based on saving over £50 on electricity and £150 on gas.

Of these people DECC estimated that 9.5 million can save over £300 (savings of £85 for electricity and £215 for gas). Of these 9.5 million, nearly 5 million pay by standard credit, so would need to move to direct debit to achieve the estimated savings.

The best deal, averaged across GB households is £765 a year (electricity £406 and gas £359) paying by direct debit.

Using these criteria, consumers in Southern Scotland would pay the lowest annual dual-fuel price of £721 while those in south west England would pay the highest of £813.

Best available deals.

These are based on Price Comparison website results for a property with median consumption.

DECC found the best available deal on 25 January 2016 for a property with median consumption in each of 14 regions and calculated a weighted average of results to produce a national best available deal of £765 for gas and electricity.

DECC used the UK Power website but said it is confident results are typical: it had previously conducted a comparison of three switching sites – UK Power; Uswitch; gocompare. All sites found exactly the same tariff available at the same price.

Data from DECC’s Domestic Fuel Inquiry (DFI) shows the number of customers by tariff type and details of the tariffs. The survey is run quarterly, with energy bills estimated annually.

A spokesman explained: “The survey, responded to by energy retailers, achieves coverage of around 90% of UK households. We thus have detailed information on which tariffs from which supplier are most popular, thus enabling energy bills to be estimated.”

An Extra Energy spokesman said: “We are a new energy supplier with a fresh attitude towards energy. Our mission is to generate outstanding cost savings which we gladly pass onto our customers. By running a highly efficient and lean organisation, we are able to keep our operational costs low, allowing us to offer big savings to businesses and households across the UK.”

Ecotricity, Britain’s greenest energy company, is cutting its customers’ gas bills by 7% while Good Energy will cut its gas price by 7.2% – both with effect from April 1.

All the Big Six suppliers have announced recent price reductions of around 5%.

Data collected – 25 January 2016 using average median consumption for dual fuel consumption of 3,100kWh of electricity and 12,500kWh of gas from comparison site. Below deals all require direct debit payments.

Best deals as at 10 February are around £20 lower, as 8 companies have bettered the above tariffs in the two weeks following the initial research. However, a number of companies have announced cuts to their standard variable gas tariffs averaging around £32. These two changes broadly offset each other, and thus do not negate the above claims.