21 September 2005
Gas and electricity customers should be shopping around to get the best deals, new reports have said.
According to research from government energy industry regulator Ofgem, the BBC and the Daily Telegraph, the recent rise in gas and electricity prices make switching energy supplier essential.
"It is still very much worth switching - there are still savings to be made," an Ofgem spokesman told the BBC.
"£100 per year can be saved if you have never switched."
Ofgem says that a British Gas consumer can save £116 a year by switching to the current cheapest supplier, while London Energy electricity customers could spare up to £54 a year.
Alan Tattersall of comparison website uSwitch.com told the Daily Telegraph that price fixing, currently offered by British Gas and other suppliers, is best avoided: "On the face of it, a price freeze seems an attractive proposition.
"But many experts are predicting a downward turn in prices by 2007, customers may end up being locked into an artificially high tariff."
Use the uSwitch.com energywatch accredited calculator to find the best gas and electricity supplier for your household.