Bills soar by up to £238: how to beat the rise

Householders need to act now to protect themselves from potential rises.

Energy companies prey on customers, moving them from cheap fixed deals to more expensive tariffs. Customers who don't switch to a cheaper deal in time will see their annual bill increase by an average of £108, according to research from price comparison website Comparethemarket.

In our Energy Shambles Watch campaign, The Telegraph is keeping tabs on the power giants' service levels to ensure fairness.

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Does it pay to switch?

Avoid the traps by shopping around for a better contract. You can save up to £365 moving from a poor deal to the best. You will need to know the name of your current energy plan and an estimate of your usage.

If you haven't kept your bills, or have recently moved and don't have access to the previous occupant's bills, you can ask for these details from your supplier. Most variable tariffs will let you switch without a charge. But some fixed-rate deals and online-only offers might charge if you leave before the end of the term.

Negotiate

Even if you are locked into a fixed-rate tariff with an exit fee, you may be able to negotiate a better deal with your current supplier or elsewhere. Ring your supplier and ask whether it can make a counter offer. If not, check whether the saving from switching to a new supplier outweighs the costs.

Advice for autumn 2014: stick with fixed

The majority of the best deals on the market are fixed, meaning cheaper energy and protection against rises. Analysts said it was more likely for prices to rise than fall - even if energy providers' costs eased.

You may be able to make greater savings by reducing your power use ahead of winter, either through energy saving appliances or smarter practices at home. Energy-saving goods may be cheaper to run, but can be costly to purchase and install. There is a risk that people who want to reduce their carbon footprint are falling for misleading claims .

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Best fixed deals

The best fixed deal is from the Extra Energy (see table, below), which pushed itself to the leaderboard this summer by cutting its annual fixed bill to £991. In September, Sainsbury's clinched one deal in the best buy tables after launching two fixed price deals. The supermarket brand currently offers the longest fix in the best buy table, with £1,045 until December 2015.

All the top ten providers charge exit fees, with Green Star levying the lowest charge (£30) to cancel your dual fuel bills, with First Utility, Ovo and Sainsbury's charging the highest at £60 to switch dual fuel suppliers.

>> Compare prices for your area with our switching tool

Supplier	Tariff	Average annual bill	Exit fees
Extra Energy	Fresh Fixed Price Oct 2015 v1	£991	£50
First Utility	iSave Fixed October 2015 (v27)	£992	£60
Sainsbury's Energy	Fixed price October 2015	£1,009	£60
Ovo Energy	Better Energy Fixed (online)	£1,011	£60
Green Star Energy	No Worries Fixed 12 months 1408 (online billing)	£1,019	£30
Extra Energy	Clear Fixed October 2015	£1,022	£50
Extra Energy	Bright Fixed Price October 2015	£1,024	£50
The Co-operative Energy	Fair & Square October 2015	£1,026	£50
Green Star Energy	No Worries Fixed 12 months 1408	£1,034	£30
EDF Energy	Blue+Price Promise March 2016	£1,039	£

^{Source: UK Power. Based on usage of 3,200kWh of electric and 13,500kWh of gas per year.}

And for a gamble, the best variable prices

With lower priced fixed deals available, the variable rates may not seem very competitive. But fixed customers could lose out if energy suppliers lower their prices.

We have already seen a fall in several variable tariffs from July to September - with newcomer Ovo Energy making it to the best buy table. But Spark Energy remains the lowest at £1,058 a year.

Supplier	Tariff	Average annual bill
Spark Energy	Direct Debit Advance 4	£1,058
Ovo Energy	Simpler Energy (online billing)	£1,116
Green Star Energy	Rate Saver 1408	£1,117
The Utility Warehouse	Double Gold	£1,127
Green Star Energy	Rate Saver 1408	£1,132
The Utility Warehouse	Gold	£1,156
First:Utility	iSave Everyday v2	£1,159
EDF	Standard	£1,164
E.On	E.On EnergyPlan	£1,169
M&S Energy	M&S Standard Energy (paperless billing)	£1,174

^{Source: UK Power. Based on usage of 3,200kWh of electric and 13,500kWh of gas per year.}

Which suppliers are consistently cheap?

All big six energy firms increased their prices in 2013. This came despite changes to green and social levies that meant their customers would see a £50 reduction, on average, in their bills.

Among the worst offenders were British Gas, the UK’s biggest supplier, which cut prices by just 3.2pc in January 2014 following a 9.2pc increase in November. SSE contributed to a number of autumn price cuts in 2013, increasing average dual fuel prices by 8.2pc, adding more than £100 to average annual bills for customers taking both gas and electricity.

British Gas says it will not increase prices in 2014. SSE has frozen its price rises on variable and fixed tariffs until January 2016, the longest guarantee in the market.

Supplier	Pre-hike bill	Post-hike bill	Hike effective	Bill after the levy reduction
British Gas	£1,340	£1,471	November 2013	£1,423
EDF Energy	£1,332	£1,384	January 2014	£1,384
E.On	£1,370	£1,385	January 2014	£1,385
npower	£1,352	£1,491	December 2013	£1,441
Scottish Power	£1,368	£1,480	December 2013	£1,430
SSE	£1,354	£1,460	November 2013	£1,410
Average	£1,353	£1,455		£1,412

^{Source: uSwitch. Based on usage of 3,200kWh of electric and 13,500kWh of gas per year.}

>> More: Most consistent big six suppliers revealed

Any catches?

Switching could save you hundreds of pounds each year, but the reduction can be cancelled out by hefty exit fees. EDF Energy is the only fixed deal featured in the cheapest ten without an exit fee.

Customer service may not be important if your home is in working order. But if something did go wrong, be warned that many of the suppliers listed in the table above also attract a number of customer complaints.

According to consumer website Which?, customer satisfaction is fairly low for Co-operative Energy (64pc), First Utility (58pc) and Spark Energy (48pc). Newcomers Extra Energy and Green Star have yet to be surveyed.

Letters to The Telegraph suggest that npower and Scottish Power offer consistently poor customer service. Both have computer system problems that their management teams are scrambling to put right. If you do choose one of these companies, do not be surprised if you encounter difficulties in resolving issues for the time being.

One of the most common complaints about energy suppliers are about bills that never arrive . Don't put up with misinformation – suppliers should provide these details within a reasonable time frame. If they fail to respond to your request, report your case to the energy ombudsman.

Latest predictions: what's next for your bills?

Industry insiders say energy companies want to increase prices in anticipation of a price cap if Labour wins power in next year's election. Ed Miliband has said prices would be frozen until 2017.

David Hunter, an energy specialist at Schneider Electric, said companies were also "hurting from the milder winter." We are using less gas and power and this "kept a lid on profits," he said.

Mr Hunter said that the biggest hidden cost in bills came from price comparison sites. "One supplier estimated that hidden commission makes up 7pc of the bill on top of supplier profits, yet it is hidden under the radar.

"These murky costs are spread across all customers – whether or not you use a broker – so there is no avoiding the surcharge even if you compare the market yourself," he said.

Ann Robinson, a policy director at price comparison service uSwitch, said that falling costs meant energy companies could not justify recent price rises.

She criticised companies which were quick to pass on higher costs to customers. "By contrast, the industry has been reluctant to pass savings to consumers and we urge energy companies to do the decent thing and cut prices," she said.

The Telegraph established that the biggest energy suppliers were left £23 per customer better-off from a Government energy deal that enabled them to cut costs.

However, Lawrence Stone from industry body Energy UK denied that energy firms deliberately profited from falling wholesale costs. "Companies buy their energy several seasons ahead, and no one knows what's going to happen this winter, so even if wholesale prices fall they are not going to start profiting from customers."

>> More: SSE retail boss blames Government for energy price rise

• Keep this page bookmarked for monthly updates to energy prices and predictions.

• kate.palmer@telegraph.co.uk

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