Big six fall out of love with new customers
MoneySuperMarket data shows that British Gas, EDF, Eon, nPower, Scottish Power and SSE have been absent from the top five tables since Valentine’s Day. The comparison site found that Scottish Power was the last of the Big Six to have a top five tariff on February 14, 2014, but this was given the elbow by a cheaper deal from smaller provider Ovo Energy.
Since then, the lowest-priced energy deals available to new customers have been consistently offered by the smaller energy companies. The current best priced tariff is from Co-op Energy: its Fair and Square deal has average annual bills of £988.70.
The top ten best buy list currently features just two energy tariffs from the Big Six. EDF Energy is in eighth place, and its fixed rate Blue +Price Promise February 2016 tariff is a good option for bill payers who want a longer term fix at £1,048.77 a year, this deal also has no early exit penalty.
Kevin Pratt, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “The Big Six haven’t shown much love for new energy customers since Valentine’s Day, with the smaller providers championing lower energy prices for UK households. They regularly reduce the cost of their market-leading deals and are fighting it out for top spot in the best buy tables, wooing new customers with cheaper energy bills.
“Those who have stayed in a loveless relationship with an existing supplier should think about a break up to find a new deal beyond the heartless Big Six as there are big savings to be made on their bills.”
Sometimes breaking up is hard to do
Further analysis found six of the top ten energy tariffs include an exit fee, with the most expensive being £60 from smaller suppliers First Utility, Ovo Energy and Green Star Energy.
People thinking about taking advantage of cheaper deals offered by smaller suppliers need to be wary of exit fees. If energy prices reduced, it may not be worth switching if it means incurring a £60 exit fee. Out of the four that don’t have exit fees within the top ten, two are smaller suppliers, Flow Energy and Spark Energy (variable) and the other two are offered by companies in the Big Six: EDF Energy and Scottish Power.
Kevin Pratt, concluded: “Now is a good time to shop around and find the best value tariff for your area and usage, particularly as many fixed rate deals are coming to an end.
“Savvy switchers who have ditched a tariff in the last couple of years can still save again with so many low-priced options on the market. The cost of any exit fees should always be taken into consideration when thinking about breaking away from a deal. Those who have stayed loyal to a supplier for many years are unlikely to have any kind of penalty to pay as standard variable deals don’t have exit fees, and better still they are likely to make the biggest savings too.
“As the summer month’s draw to a close, cutting the cost of energy bills might be starting to creep into people’s minds. It still takes between six and eight weeks to switch supply so if you want to be tucked up with a new energy company this winter with lower bills you need to act sooner rather than later.”