What Is All The Energy Hype About? Gas - Electricity Companies Make Healthy Profits.
The past few years many families have started to switch energy companies far more regularly. A combination of both additional scrutiny by the energy watchdog and the deregulation of energy companies has increased competition between suppliers. The remarkable growth of the internet and the accurate and timeous reporting of said companies prices has meant that cash strapped consumers instantly had a way to compare those prices and services they were receiving against a number of their rivals at no additional costs. Many competitors offer a free switching service and are prepared to put great deals together for any families prepared to tie themselves into to contracts of between 12 months and 36 months. Increased competition has definitely forced some of the bigger market leading energy suppliers to cut prices when times are hard. The advent of web sites like which? And social network sites has encouraged consumers to voice their dissatisfaction with unscrupulous energy companies who over charge and are not possibly as prepared to provide the levels of customer service they should be.

Consumers have many tariff plans to choose from today, not the case just a few years ago! Examples are single tariff electricity meter where the meter fitted by the supplier offers users only one rate per kilowatt hour. Then there are those who have a separate day and night meter. The charge per kilo watt hour is far lower between the hours of 7 and 6, but the day rate is higher than a single tariff meter would be. Dependent on your needs it is some times better to be on single tariff meter, for instance if you have a large young family or work from home and find that the majority of your consumption is during the day. If you are a young couple with no kids or single and rarely home during the day then it is quite likely that the low evening rate with higher day rate is a great match for you.

Then there is the prepaid meter. These have been under under attack for a number of years now. Consumers pay far more for their energy than those who have regular meters. The argument is understandable from both sides with pre paid meters. Consumers find that they are able to budget better with limited finances when they use these pre-paid meters. Unfortunately these families are generally living in the poorer areas of the UK and can ill afford to be paying additional premiums on top of already high prices. Energy companies state that initial fitment of these meters cost money and their prices reflect these costs. My argument against these pre-paid meters is an obvious one. The people who don?t need to worry about their energy consumption do not pay the same high premiums. They should speak out and challenge the energy companies about the energy charges paid by the people who earn far less and pay far more for the same electricity and gas, but without the service that the same companies more affluent customers receive by default. If you need to budget then arrange for a direct debit to the amount that you can afford to pay each month. This way during the Summer months you should be able to claw back some of the areas and by the end of Summer you should once again be running around about even stevens. But only do this if you are prepared and able to take a monthly meter reading, go online and submit your reading to find out where you stand on a monthly basis. Yes, this does make your life a bit more complicated, but it does also lower your home energy costs significantly.

The last few years have seen a rise in fixed rate tariffs that allow you to set your energy tariffs for an agreed period to protect you from rising energy costs in the future. On the one hand they offer peace of mind from rising costs, but there is always the risk that energy prices will fall further and you could be left paying over the odds. However, they are great for those who cannot afford a sudden hike in their bills over the next couple of years.