Price Comparison – finding the best energy deals

Keeping the gas and electricity bills under control can be a tough job. The best way to do so is to confirm that you have availed a great deal for energy to start with. In this article, we are going to share the methods that can help you to get the best deals.

Deciding on the right subscription can help you to save many dollars per year. But there is certain information that you need to know to the avail the best energy deal.

Know your consumption

The basic step to start with is to know how much energy you need on an annual basis. The best way to do so is using the annual statement that your current energy supplier provides you with. Or you can calculate the total bills you paid last year for energy prices. You can find:

• The tariff plans you are paying to
• Your average consumption of electricity and gas

Some energy companies also require you to have an online account. You can also find this information there. These figures help you to get started with the search for your new tariff. This is because you need these statistics to find out the total price you will be saving each year to compare the best energy deals available to you.

Check out the multiple options available

Once you have collected all the necessary data, the next thing that you need to do is to find the gas and electricity suppliers in your area and check out what each operator has in offer for you in the range of your requirements. You can often come across a dual-fuel plan where a single supplier provides you with both types of energy. These plans are generally cheaper.

But this is not always a mandate. Depending on your location and service providers, you can also save big by hiring the supplies from two separate suppliers. Energy is an ever-fluctuating sector and the deals can vary at all times. Deals and tariffs are renewed every few months and that makes it difficult to predict which particular one will be serving you to save money to better extents for a long time. You need to be constantly updated about the market and be in touch with the tariffs and deals offered by the leading suppliers in your area.

Fixed tariff versus variable tariffs

There are mainly two types of energy deals that are available in the marker- fixed and variable.

Variable deals

The variable deals are also referred to as the standard tariffs and the prices can change every time the supplier decides to alter the rates. There are rare times when these tariffs are cheap. But this is often the basic default plan that your supplier can provide you with. This is especially the case if you have been enjoying the deals from your supplier for a long time or if you did not change the tariff plans after your last fixed plan ended.

A price cap is supposed to work on these deals every year. It should be focused on the number of energy units you consume and not your total bill. But at times, variable deals can be cheap as well.

Fixed deals

This is exactly the opposite and you are required to pay a fixed rate for each unit of energy consumption up to a certain time period. It can be anywhere between months to years. It states that buyers will be provided with the knowledge of the price that they are required to pay as no rise to the energy price will be affecting your tariff during this period. It also rules you out from enjoying the benefits in case there is a drop in the price.

Which option is cheaper to choose?

Market research has come up with the facts that there has been a 17% rise in the charges for a variable deal over the past two years across most of the leading energy suppliers. But the rise has been limited to only 10% when it comes to the fixed tariffs. These are also the cheapest deals each provider has for you.

But standard tariffs can be cheap as well. It is just that the fixed deals are just priced better and this also bars the suppliers from reducing the prices much.

Price comparison sites are not just for the end users, businesses can get the same benefits, challenging costs on a regular basis is the way to keep profits to the required levels.

Many service providers are also coming up with time-based tariffs where two or more plans offer different rates for energy at different times of the day. The price is generally high when the demands are high during the peak hours along with a cheap rate when the demand falls. Depending on your area and energy provider, you can avail energy deals that offer cheap rates for 7 or 10 hours per day.

You can also cut down a lot of energy charges if you can effectively switch to the tariffs for renewable electricity. You can set up your own solar power set up and use the natural energy to cut down on your deals. Though the initial investment can be a bit costly, it can help you save more over the long terms.

A popular price uSwitch Ltd is a good example as they always seem to come up with reasonable deals.

Money supermarket Plc is another well known brand in the UK who advertise heavily.

It is always interesting to see how profitable these companies are which in turn gives an idea of the level of interest in saving money.