New tariffs from British Gas

Scott Byrom, energy channel manager at MoneySupermarket said: "Today British Gas has announced a whole new range of energy tariffs for UK consumers. The new products have been created to make understanding the way energy bills are calculated more transparent and easier to understand.

"Available to new customers only, these tariffs are a step in the right direction towards simplifying billing and are also priced lower than the preceding tariffs that have been removed from sale.  However, the new tariffs still aren't competitively priced compared with the options available from other energy companies. The new ‘Clear and Simple' tariff replacing ‘Standard' is around £20 cheaper, but still £38 more expensive than the cheapest standard tariff offered by EDF Energy. The new Online tariff is around £46 cheaper than the previous one but just over £90 more expensive than the cheapest deal in the market offered by First Utility. The new fixed deal from British Gas is set until May 2014. Comparing this to the nearest product offered by SSE which is fixed until April 2014 is £148.25 more expensive.

"Existing British Gas customers will not be automatically moved off their current deal, but, if they are interested in finding out whether they could save money either by taking up a new BG tariff launched today or by moving to a better value energy deal from another provider, they should do it now. This is a good time for people to evaluate their energy needs and look for the right deal before we head into the colder and more costly Winter months as it takes 6-8 weeks for your supply to change over. The typical saving through MoneySupermarket.com by changing energy tariffs is around £200."