Tips to Help You Save on Your Fuel Costs
During the winter months fuel bills tend to soar and are the second highest expense encountered by homeowners after their monthly mortgage payment.
Although fuel costs are starting to come down, they are still higher than they used to be with the average household spending about £1250 per year on this essential outgoing each month.
Some of the easy ways you can cut down on this expense include obtaining your gas and energy from the same supplier. Many offer discounts to consumers who use the company for all their fuel needs throughout the year.
Paying online will also help you lower your costs as many companies prefer not to send out monthly paper bills and have to deal with cash or checks that they have to bring to the bank.
Instead of continuing with the same supplier that you have had for years, it is in your best interests to start looking at the rates charged by other suppliers and consider making a switch.
According to companies that compare energy costs, customers who do not switch providers could end up paying an extra £300 this year alone by not taking advantage of the savings that are available.
By using a comparison site you can check your usage over the course of the past year and see how much money you can save. You do need to have the copies of your gas and energy bills to see how much you used in that length of time. Some of these sites also have a helpline where you can conduct the comparison over the telephone. Examples include: Energyhelpline on 0800 074 0745, SimplySwitch 0800 0111 395 and uSwitch on 0800 404 7908.
It is best to stick to the variable rate for your monthly consumption because you could end up paying more money than you need to by choosing a fixed rate. However, a fixed rate does provide peace of mind for householders because they can budget their money each month when they know exactly what the bill will be.
According to the director of Energyhelpline, Mark Todd, consumers should not “pay a premium for a fixed rate. The likelihood is tariffs will be cut again in the winter and prices are likely to stay depressed.”
When you have a contract with a supplier, it is costly to get out of the contract before the time is up. The exit fees charged range from £30 to as much as £75. It is best to wait out your contract and start looking for a new supplier about four weeks before it is set to expire.
Some companies offer capped rates in which the rate cannot rise above a certain level. At any rate, with falling gas prices, it is best to avoid paying a premium.
Three of the major fuel suppliers in the UK, British Gas, EDF Energy and E.On, have announced great savings for Internet customers that are designed to bring the average household expense below £1000 per year. It is quite likely that the other major suppliers will follow suit.
E.On has announced a deal for its customers in which they sign up online for a deal at which they have a fixed rate until December 2010. According to Moneysupermarket.com, this works out to about £983 per year.
While EDF Energy does have a similar deal, it is not a fixed rate and is available to new customers only. British Gas offers a discount of 6% for online customers amounting to a cost of £994 per year and this plan is available to everyone.
Look for the cheapest supplier in your local area and keep in mind the government programs such as £250 winter fuel allowance for those aged 60 and older and £400 for those aged 80 and older.
