Have you turned your heating on yet? Chillier temperatures and darker evenings prompt a jump in your gas and electricity use at this time of year, all the more so if you’re spending more time at home than usual.
The cut to the energy price cap at the start of October should help keep your bills in check if you’re on a supplier’s standard variable default tariff. But even with the price cap at its lowest level yet, you can still save up to £221 per year by switching to a cheaper deal.
Picking a cheaper energy deal doesn’t mean turning your back on good customer service. We’ve also listed the most cost-friendly tariffs from our Which? Recommended Providers so you can have the best of both worlds.
Looking to cut your energy costs for the winter? Compare gas and electricity deals using Which? Switch to find the best deal for you.
You can also phone us on 0800 410 1149 or 01259 220235.
Can I get cheaper gas and electricity than the price cap?
The energy price cap limits how much a supplier can charge you per unit of electricity and gas. It was cut to its lowest-ever level at the start of October.
This is good news if you’re on a default or out-of-contract tariff (also called standard variable), because your energy company can charge you less than it could previously. Savings are likely to be smaller if you routinely switch supplier to make sure you’re on the cheapest deal.
However, there are now fewer tariffs available that will make for big savings. We’ve found just three tariffs which would save at least £200 per year in comparison with the price cap, based on a home using a medium amount of gas and electricity. The previous time the price cap was changed, there 68 deals that would have saved the same home at least £200 per year.
We’ve highlighted those deals in our table below. Even if none of them take your fancy, our research also found 38 deals which would save our example household at least £100 per year, so it’s still well worth switching when an existing deal comes to its end.
Top five cheapest gas and electricity deals
Here we’ve listed the five cheapest energy tariffs on sale now, based on the annual cost for a household using a medium amount of electricity and gas.
Exactly how much your bills will cost depends on how much energy your home and family uses. Prices also vary by region.
We’ve also calculated how much you would save compared with the current energy price cap (£1,042 for a medium user until April 2021).
| Company | Tariff | Annual price (medium user) | Fixed/ variable | Exit fee | Savings compared with price cap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ebico | Ebico 12m Summer Saver – paperless | £821 | Fixed | £30 per fuel | £221 |
| 2 | Simplicity Energy | 2020 Cabbage – paperless | £823 | Fixed | £35 per fuel | £219 |
| 3 | Avro Energy | Simple and SuperConnect – paperless | £832 | Fixed | None | £210 |
| 4 | Green | Maple – paperless | £854 | Variable | n/a | £188 |
| 5 | Utility Point | Just Join UP 12 m fixed wk40 – paperless | £866 | Fixed | £36 per fuel | £176 |
| Prices are based on widely-available dual-fuel tariffs for a medium user (Using Ofgem averages of 12,000kWh gas and 2,900kWh electricity), paying by fixed monthly direct debit with paperless bills. Prices are averages across regions, rounded to the nearest whole pound and correct on 13 October 2020. Simplicity Energy’s deal is not available in north Scotland. | ||||||
Four out of five of this month’s cheapest deals are fixed for a year, so your prices will be set for the length of the deal. Three of them have exit fees though, so you would have to pay at least £60 if you wanted to move to another deal before the end of your contract.
Variable deals, including the one listed from Green, don’t have exit fees. But the price you pay can change if the energy firm decides to raise or lower its prices. If it does this you will get 30 days’ notice.
Three of this month’s cheapest deals come from firms included in our energy companies’ customer satisfaction survey – find out how Avro Energy, Ebico and Utility Point fared.
Cheapest deals for Which? Recommended Providers
The cheapest deals listed below will save you money compared with the price cap and provide you with great service. They were praised by customers in our most recent energy survey and passed our assessments of their procedures, complaints handling and customer response times.
They don’t offer savings as substantial as the overall cheapest deals above but you can still save up to £145 compared with the price cap.
| Company | Tariff | Annual price (medium user) | Fixed/ variable | Exit fee | Savings compared with price cap | |
| 1 | Pure Planet | 100% Green 12m fixed Oct20 v1 – paperless | £897 | Fixed | £30 per fuel | £145 |
| 2 | So Energy | So Birch Essential v3 – Green – seasonal payments – paperless | £903 | Fixed | £5 per fuel | £139 |
| 3 | Octopus Energy | Octopus 12m Fixed September 2020 v2 – paperless | £953 | Fixed | None | £89 |
| Prices are based on widely-available dual-fuel tariffs for a medium user (Using Ofgem averages of 12,000kWh gas and 2,900kWh electricity), paying by fixed monthly direct debit with paperless bills. Prices are averages across regions, rounded to the nearest whole pound and correct on 13 October 2020. Firms included are the current Which? Recommended Providers for energy. | ||||||
Pure Planet is selling the cheapest deal of our Which? Recommended Providers at the moment, though So Energy’s cheapest tariff is just £5 more per year.
So Energy’s tariff has seasonal payments. This means that you pay more during the winter when your usage is higher. Most direct debit tariffs charge the same amount every month. If you would prefer equal payments you can change to this in your online account with So Energy.
Which? energy pricing research
Prices are based on widely available dual-fuel tariffs, paying by fixed monthly direct debit, with paperless bills. Energy use is based on Ofgem’s annual average figures for a medium user (12,000kWh gas and 2,900kWh electricity).
Data is from Energylinx. Prices given are averages across regions, rounded to the nearest whole pound and correct on 13 October 2020.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/10/top-five-cheapest-energy-deals-for-october-how-has-the-new-price-cap-affected-tariffs/