Households urged to secure a good energy deal

The gap between the cheapest online energy plan in the market and the most expensive has widened to almost £100 says uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service.

All of the big six energy suppliers have now replaced highly competitive online plans with more expensive versions. The latest to make a move is ScottishPower, which has replaced its Online Energy Saver 10 plan with Online Energy Saver 11. With an annual bill size of £962, the new version of the plan is £47 a year more expensive.

The moves have left a gap of almost £100 between the cheapest online plan - npower's Sign Online 19 with an annual bill of £890 - and the most expensive - SSE's Go Direct 5 with an annual bill of £984. With no guarantee of how long the npower deal will be available, consumers are being urged to sign up in time for winter before the window of opportunity is snapped shut.

The number of householders switching to online plans - often the most competitive deals on the market - has increased by around 1 million in the last year to 3.5million. However, this still leaves 87% of households languishing on less competitive deals.

Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch.com, says: "Online energy plans are consistently the most competitive in the market, only recently coming in at around £300 a year cheaper than standard plans. But with suppliers gradually pushing their online prices up we are starting to see the difference shrink. Online plans will continue to be more competitive, but the saving will not be quite as pronounced. With winter fast approaching I would urge households to take action to secure one of these lower cost deals now before the window of opportunity closes."