Following the move by British Gas to cut its prices (an average of 7%), many of the leading energy suppliers have all announced similar drops.

Npower has slashed gas prices by some 7%, but reports suggest that these cuts do not apply to its tariffs online. It’s reckoned that around two million homes will get the benefit of the drop by the end of March, 2010, but those customers who are on the standard tariff (and that’s just shy of four million customers) won’t see any major change at all.

But Npower say the reason for not introducing a drop across all its prices is due to the competitive nature of its existing price points.

As to estimates how much Npower customers will save, it’s calculated that those taking only gas from Npower will benefit from around £60 a year and for those taking both gas and electricity, the saving will be around £50.

Npower said on their website:
“We are able to reduce our prices now as the cost of the gas that npower purchased in the past can now be used in today’s prices. We are now cheaper than British Gas for gas on a national average basis of all payment methods at an average consumption level of 20,500 kWh.”

Other gas suppliers weren’t far behind, with Eon saying that its prices will fall by 6% by the end of March, 2009. Good new says Eon which calculates that for it’s customers on its standard tariff and paying by direct debit, the yearly saving will be £42 a year, although cynics suggest that Eon had hiked its prices so much over the last couple of years, that its cost of gas will be a lot higher than it was at the start of 2008.

Scottish and Southern Energy’s price drops range from 4% to 9% and much depends on what type of deal the customer has, but there was no drop in electricity prices. So those with dual and electricity deals will see their bills cut by around 4% and those with single gas deals will get a 7% drop. The ones benefiting from the bigger 9% drop are those using pre-payment meters.

Although obviously good news for customers of the energy companies, consumer groups have described the reductions as miserly and warn that prices could rise quickly again towards the end of 2010.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

You can quickly check the latest energy prices and easily switch suppliers with our comparison tool here >>>

British Gas owner Centrica has just announced results at a time when the country’s regulators are asking the energy companies to pass on more quickly to the customer the drop in wholesale prices.

But whilst Centrica admit in their financial statement that there was a substantial drop in both electricity and gas wholesale prices in 2009, it warns that they will be heading north again in 2010.

In their performance review, Centrica said:
“In 2009, energy was once again never far from the headlines. Wholesale UK gas and electricity prices both declined sharply from the levels seen during 2008 and while the forward curve indicates that they will rise again during 2010, it is clear that we are in a very different commodity price environment from that experienced in 2008.

“This comes at a time when the UK Government recognises that unprecedented levels of investment will be required across the industry if security of supply is to be maintained and tough environmental targets met.”

As for the financial performance of Centrica, for 2009 it recorded revenues of £21.96 billion, up 5% from 2008. Operating profit rose from £661 million in 2008 to £856 million in 2009.

As for the year’s achievements, Centrica made a major acquisition which increased its gas and oil reserves by 50%. It also took a strategic position in nuclear power by acquiring a 20% equity in British Energy, a company which owns and operates all of the UK’s nuclear power stations.

It highlighted a strong performance from British Gas, which included operational improvements and price reductions. It pointed out that there were some 550,000 additional product holdings, which included 164,000 additional households taking both energy and service products.

What’s more, British Gas’s commitment to the growing emerging energy efficiency market would create 1,100 new jobs in 2010.

Sam Laidlaw, Chief Executive of Centrica, said:
“2009 was a year of significant achievement for Centrica with British Gas now transformed and the completion of the Venture Production and British Energy transactions. Our existing strategic priorities have now been achieved, and today we have announced new priorities to build on the robust, vertically-integrated business model that we have in place. Centrica is well-positioned to pursue growth opportunities and lead the drive to a low-carbon world, whilst maintaining the financial discipline to secure strong returns on our investments.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The largest supplier of residential gas in the UK, British Gas, has cut its standard gas prices by an average of 7%.

For the average gas customer, this will mean a reduction of around £55 a year from their bill. It is thought that some eight million households will benefit from the cuts and the price changes take effect immediately.

Bearing in mind this is the third British Gas price cut in the past 12 months, it means that nearly £190 has been chopped off the average annual dual fuel bill.

Phil Bentley, British Gas Managing Director, said:
“At British Gas, we know household budgets are stretched, and that our customers are concerned about the effect the recent cold weather will have on their winter fuel bills. I’m pleased we’re able to offer our customers some extra help with this gas price cut – and that we’re able to do this while it’s still winter, allowing our customers to really feel the benefit.

“This latest price cut means that, no matter where you live in Britain, British Gas is offering on average the cheapest standard gas, electricity and dual fuel prices – beating all other major suppliers. But, at British Gas, we know that cutting prices is just part of the picture in helping our customers cut their fuel bills; we’re also doing more than any other supplier to help our customers use less energy. As well as cutting prices three times in the past year, we have been helping our customers improve their energy efficiency and cut their energy use by 7%.”

British Gas claim that last year, they cut both standard gas and electricity prices by an average 10%. And the May 2009 electricity price reduction saw British Gas become on average the cheapest supplier of standard electricity across the UK.

What’s more claim British Gas, this latest gas price cut means that they are now also the cheapest major supplier of standard gas at average consumption, and therefore of dual fuel, right across the UK.

In another move, British Gas has also removed the price ‘differential’ for gas pre-payment meter accounts, meaning that pre-pay gas customers are now paying, on average, the same for their energy as customers who pay by cash, or cheque.

Find out more about British Gas here.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

npower have introduced free home energy monitors for new customers. This customer incentive is available for all new Go Fix customers but is not available for signups to npower Juice green energy.

Switch energy provider to npower to claim your FREE Home Energy Monitor:

Recommended retail price: £39.99

Home Energy Monitors are estimated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to help save up to 15% on your fuel bills.

Features of the Home Energy Monitor are:

• Check and monitor how much energy you are using in real time
• See what your electricity is costing you in Pounds and Pence
• See an instant response when you turn on an appliance – how much energy are your appliances using?
• Compare your usage from one day to the next

How to claim your Home Energy Monitor:
Switch your energy supply to npower online – once your energy supply with npower commences, you will be sent an email to which you’ll need to respond and confirm that you still want to receive your FREE energy monitor.

<< Click here to switch energy supplier to nPower and get your FREE monitor >>

Subject to terms and conditions:
† Maximum of 1 monitor per household. Offer to residents of Great Britain only (not Northern Ireland). This offer is subject to availability. Monitors will be distributed on a first come first served basis. There will be no alternative or cash offer. You will be sent an email once your supply with npower commences to which you will need to respond and confirm that you still wish to receive this offer. Your personal details will be used for cross checking for Ofgem compliance and may be used for marketing purposes. By accepting this npower home energy monitor you agree to receive survey’s from us about your usage of the device.

Article by Alan Potts
 

After my latest round of exhaustive (and frankly quite tedious) research into the UK energy marketplace, I’m starting to despair at the plethora of offers available for domestic energy supply. With over 4,000 different energy tariffs available in the UK alone, choosing the right one is becoming incredibly confusing and time consuming.  A fine example of ‘confusion marketing’ at its very worst!

Nevertheless, I’m pleased to report that Scottish Power have again won this month’s top slot in the BUYability rating contest with their Online Energy Saver 7 tariff.  The combination of excellent customer feedback and very good ‘dual fuel’ savings for average households have convinced me that they are still one of the very best value deals currently available.

The Online Energy Saver 7 offer runs until the end of November 2010 and guarantees that prices will stay at least 3% cheaper than Scottish Power’s standard gas and electricity prices for customers who pay by monthly direct. It’s effectively a fixed term deal because customers who cancel early could incur cancellation fees of up to £50. That’s £30 for electricity & £20 for gas.

Our comparisons assumed an average annual electricity and gas usage for selected three bedroom dwellings in several different locations.

Customers whose gas is supplied via an Independent Gas Transporter pay an extra £42 per year on top of the Online Energy Saver 7 tariff.

The offer is subject to limited availability and may be removed without notice by ScottishPower at any time. 

<< Check how much you can SAVE with Scottish Power here >>

A summary of the benefits are shown below:

• Guaranteed discount until 30th November 2010.
• Limited Availability, could be removed at any time
• Early redemption charges inclusive of VAT of £30 for electricity and £20 for gas apply.
• Cash back on credit balances at annual reassessment.

Article by Alan Potts