ScottishPower brings out cheapest energy deal on market

There is good news today for consumers as ScottishPower brings out the cheapest energy deal on the market.

The new plan - Online Energy Fixed November 2013 - comes in at £1,052 a year, £2 a year cheaper than EDF Energy's Blue+Price Promise September 2013. It also offers fixed price protection until 31st October, 2013 - one month longer than the EDF Energy plan.

It is the first of the big six suppliers to challenge EDF Energy's position as the cheapest supplier in the market. Importantly, because the saving is just £2 a year the new ScottishPower plan does not fall into the scope of EDF Energy's price promise - it promises to tell customers if another supplier is £1 a week or £52 a year cheaper. The threshold for this promise to kick in is £1,002 a year - no other supplier has come near this yet.

Both the new ScottishPower plan and EDF Energy's Blue+Price Promise require customers to pay by direct debit. Neither have early cancellation fees.

Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch.com, says: "This could be the spark we need to ignite a price war. ScottishPower is the first of the big six to openly challenge EDF Energy's position as the cheapest supplier. With the Olympics about to start, and EDF Energy's prominent involvement as a sponsor, it will want to retain that crown so we may see a retaliatory move.

"If suppliers start to battle it out, consumers will benefit. Not only can they switch to a more competitive deal, but they can also enjoy the peace of mind offered by a fixed price plan at no extra cost."