Reducing your fuel bills

You may be able to reduce what you pay to your current fuel supplier, or you may be able to find a better deal from another supplier.   You should also see our top ten tips for saving energy which will help to reduce your fuel bills.

Step 1 - Contact your supplier

Some suppliers offer special discounted tariffs for vulnerable customers.  These are often referred to as “social tariffs”. Some suppliers also provide help with energy efficiency measures such as insulation or draught proofing. You should ask your supplier what help they provide.  If your supplier offers discounts or other help to vulnerable customers, they will check to see if you are eligible.   Each supplier will have its own eligibility criteria, for example they may help people over 60 or those with disabilities or in receipt of certain benefits. 

If you are unable to benefit from a special discounted tariff, you should still ask your supplier if you could be paying less.  They may have a cheaper deal, or it may be cheaper to pay another way, for example by direct debit.

The Home Heating Helpline can help you to contact the right department of your fuel supplier to find out whether you may be able to reduce your bills.

If you don’t want to consider changing your supplier, then you need go no further than step 1.

Step 2 - Shop around for the best deal

You may also want to shop around to see if you can find a better deal from another supplier, by using a price comparison website.  Visit the Consumer Focus website where you can find information on free price comparison services that are available on the internet.  To use one of these services you will need to provide information such as your postcode, the name of your current supplier and the name of your deal, and an idea of how much you spend on gas and electricity.   You will then be provided with details of how much you would pay if you changed to other suppliers.  You should also call the gas and electricity suppliers directly to confirm these prices, before making any decision.

Step 3 – Compare the special discounted tariffs offered by the different energy suppliers

The price comparison websites do not usually provide details of special discounted tariffs or other help that suppliers provide for vulnerable customers, such as help with making your home more energy efficient. For details of the special discounted tariffs and other help currently being provided by the major fuel providers visit the Consumer Focus website. You will see a list of answers to questions and you need to select number 6 "Social products and tariffs currently on offer from suppliers". 

You can then compare what discount you may be entitled to from the different fuel suppliers and deduct this from the prices that you have been provided with from the price comparison service.  This will help you to decide which supplier to choose by working out what you would have to pay, taking into account any special discount you could get.  You will also be able to see whether the other suppliers could help you with things like insulation or other energy saving measures. 

Example

• Frank currently pays £450 a year by monthly direct debit for his electricity and gas from supplier A.
• He contacts his supplier and finds out that because he is aged 60 and in receipt of Pension Credit, they can offer him a discount of 15%, which is £67.50 a year.  This would reduce his bill to £382.50 a year.
• He then uses a price comparison website he finds that he would pay £400 a year with supplier B.
• He already knows what special discount he can get from supplier A so he then checks to see what special discount he may be able to get from supplier B by checking the Consumer Focus website.  He finds that they are not currently offering a special discount but will start to do so again later on the year.
• So although the price comparison service shows that he could get a better deal with supplier B, once he takes into account the special discount he can get from supplier A, the best option is to stay with supplier A.  Supplier A arranges the 15% discount from now on, and Frank decides he will check the situation again later on the year when supplier B may start to offer a special discount. 

Note for Northern Ireland: The information on this page does not apply to Northern Ireland. There is only one electricity supplier and there are only two gas suppliers. You can still contact your supplier to see if you are on the best price plan and to ask if there is other help they may be able to provide.