As we all know 2008 saw the price of gas and electricity go through the roof and for many domestic consumers this has meant they literally can’t afford to heat their houses and turn their lights on. In fact, reports now show that over 3 million households are suffering from ‘fuel poverty’ and that the majority of the country are paying over 10% of their income just towards their fuel bills. There is however a light on the horizon and many of the big gas and electricty providers have recently revealed their intended price cuts to the nation. But who is offering the best deal?

Scottish Power
Scottish Power cut their Price Sure fixed rate tariff by 10% in January which means that the average household will save around £80 this year as dual fuel customers. Unfortunately the company hasn’t mentioned the effect that the price cut will have on their other tariffs – if any – and so I can’t comment further on this.

Scottish and Southern
Scottish and Southern are part of a larger group however they have independently announced their gas and electricity price cuts which will come into effect from the end of March 09. As things stand they intend to cut gas prices by 4% and electricty by 9% and this will save the average dual fuel customer around £66 per year. Here there is no mention of specific tariffs and so it is assumed that the price cut is good for all customers.

British Gas
Everyone waited in anticipation to see what Bristish Gas would do when the first of the price cuts were announced at the beginning of the year. Not surprisingly they have virtually matched the other providers and are cutting prices by 10% on most tariffs from 19th February 09. For dual fuel customers this can mean a saving of well over £100 per year, depending on your annual consumption.

N-Power
And finally N-Power who have gone down a slightly different route. Their price cuts are to come into effect from May 09 and are set at a whopping 16% for gas but only 3% for electricty. This is fantastic news for households with a large gas consumption but for the rest of us – providing we are dual fuel customers – it averages out at around 10% overall saving again so no real difference from the rest.

In Conclusion
It seems that the price war has started but nobody really wants to take hold of the reins. All of the large providers are offering similar price cuts and so the one you go with will depend on your annual consumption and the unit price they’re offering. Costs are still around 50% higher than they were in 2007, even with the new reductions, and so there are still going to be millions of households struggling to pay bills. You should do your homework and shop around for the exact tariff that suits your needs so that even if the price cuts are temporary, you can still take full advantage of them.

Guest Article by Clare Lynock