Households are still paying substantially more for their gas and electricity than they were last summer, despite many of the big six energy firms announcing price cuts last week.

Analysis of what is effectively the shaving, rather than slashing, of costs shows that many still face double digit rises when compared with what they paid last summer before the huge price rises that came into force late last year.

Not only were those rises up to 19%, but they applied to both gas and electricity, whereas the cuts this week only apply to one fuel per company.

While welcome, critics suggest the cuts are little more than a PR stunt that will have a negligible affect on bills. The energy firms admit themselves that households will only save around £20 or £30 a year from the price falls.

What's more, SSE customers' price drop won't come into force for another two and a half months.

The reductions are a result of falling wholesale prices ? the price power firms pay for the gas and electricity they sell to us.

Theres nothing like an energy price cut to give you a much needed warm glow in the cold winter months.

And thanks to the mild winter, thus far, the gas and electricity providers have been coming forward one by one over the past two weeks to announce they are cutting prices, culminating in the annoucement on January 16th of a cut in electricity by E.ON and Scottish Power becoming the final member of the big six to announce cuts as it reduces gas prices by five per cent.

However, when the dust settles on the headlines, the fact is the cust announced in the last week represent about 15 per cent of the value of the increases announced by the same firms in the autumn.

Each of the big six increased gas prices by between 15 and 20 per cent between August and November and four of the six raised the cost of electricity by over ten per cent, with just npower at 7.2 per cent and EDF at 4.5 per cent lower.

Customers are left without any meaningful competition from the price cuts as all of the tariff cuts from the main six suppliers are reduced by between £26 and £39 pounds annually. Whilst any decrease is welcome it pales into insignificance against the average rise of ?220 for a household on a dual fuel tariff as a result of the autumn hike in prices.

Assuming this winter would be as harsh as those in the previous two years, the providers overstocked on energy and the wholesale price of gas has now plummeted by as much as 25 per cent.

Taking advantage of this, two of the smaller energy companies Ovo and The Co-operative, decided to slash their prices in a bid to win over some of the competition.

First Co-operative Energy revealed in December it would be reducing the price of gas and electricity by around three per cent on February 1st, a move which would save the average customer £35 a year.

Then independent energy company Ovo announced on January 6th it was cutting the price of its dual fuel gas and electricity tariff by five per cent with immediate effect.

43% of people are worried they cant afford their next fuel bill and one in two say energy bills will put a strain on their finances this year, according to new figures released today from Citizens Advice at the start of its Big Energy Week which will help people save money on their fuel bills.

Citizens Advice, Chief Executive, Gillian Guy said: We know hikes in prices have put extra pressure on peoples budgets at a time when money is already tight. Day in day out our Bureaux are helping people who cant afford their fuel bills.

Big Energy Week is helping people save money on their bills by encouraging them to:

Contact your supplier to check you are you are on the best  tariff and payment method for you.  Monthly direct debit is on average £100 cheaper per year than paying by cash or cheque.

Visit an accredited comparison site to see if you could get your energy cheaper elsewhere. You may be able to save up to £200 off your annual bill by shopping around for a different supplier, particularly if you have never changed energy firm.

Insulate the walls and the loft of your home and you could save on average around £120 per year.  All major gas and electricity suppliers are giving away free or discounted insulation to any household, not just their own customers. Ask if youre eligible so you dont miss out.  That goes for heating oil customers too.

Check you are not missing out on any benefits or tax credits that could up your income; your local Citizens Advice Bureaux can help you with this.

Using less energy could save you money, just by doing simple things like turning off lights and switching appliances off at the wall. Turning your thermostat down 1C alone could cut your heating bill by £60 on average.

With energy companies now offering a wide range of deals, its easy to become confused about whats on offer. To help you decide which is best for you, use one of the Internet price comparison services accredited to the Consumer Focus Confidence Code. Then you can compare the different offerings from domestic gas and electricity suppliers and to find out how much you could save by switching to a new supplier.

These independent price comparison sites (i.e. Unravelit) help thousands of households every month to compare prices and switch to better deals. They offer a comprehensive service that compares your current suppliers tariffs and usage with those of all suppliers. They help you find the best deal and provide you with a free and easy-to-use switching service. They also give detailed information on each tariff, including gas and electricity unit prices and any discounts.

The Consumer Focus Confidence Code is designed to help make the switching process easier, more reliable and provide reassurance for for you the consumer.

The average British shower is estimated to last around eight minutes

A new survey has revealed that Britons spend far longer in the shower than previously thought, which is a surprising victory for hygiene and a regrettable defeat for the environment. This means we use almost the same amount of energy and water as the average bath.

The survey monitored 100 families over a period of 10 days, recording 2,600 showers, or 2.6 per family per day, in total. The technology used in the study calculated a shower lasting eight minutes to use approximately 62 litres of hot water.

Despite using more hot water than previous studies suggested, the average shower still compares favourably to the average bath, which uses around 80 litres of hot water. Unfortunately, the data revealed an alarming problem: power showers use twice the energy and water as the average bath.

The Research and Development wing of Unilever carried out the study. Dr Hilde Hendrickx, a behavioural scientist working at the firm, said We know that 95% of the associated greenhouse gas emissions are related to people using our products because they have to use hot water.

The study ought to be reviewed with interest by UK households, who spend around £416 a year on daily eight-minute showers. Spending £918 for the same time, families with power showers ought to be even more interested.

There's winter chill in the air and Christmas is just around the corner - which means plenty of cold days when you'll need the house warm all the time.Don't ruin Christmas by worrying about sky high fuel bills though - act now to make sure they don't cost as much as you think.

1. Switch energy supplier. You've heard it a hundred times over already, but have you actually done it? If you've never made the switch before, or you haven't checked for a few years you could stand to save over £389 for 10 minutes work!

2. Insulate. Does your home have cavity wall or loft insulation? If not you could be losing hundreds of pounds of heat each year. Everyone, regardless of their age or whether or not they are on benefits, if their house is suitable can get cavity wall or loft insulation for free from EDF or just look online to see if theres a local alternative. So there's no reason not to take advantage.

3. DIY Insulation. Even small changes can make a difference, so be sure to use draft excluders and brushes to plug gaps under doors, from your postbox or cat flap and between windows. Invest in some thermal curtains or even a radiator booster which costs just 30p a year to run - they'll make a big difference to the warmth of your home without you needing to turn the thermostat up.

4. Think green. Even if saving the environment isn't high on your agenda, thinking green will help you dramatically cut the cost of your bills. Be sure to turn lights out when you leave a room, don't leave appliances on standby and take more showers instead of baths. Try washing your clothes at 30C rather than 40C, and only boil as much water as you need when you put the kettle on.

5. Get an energy saving monitor. If that isn't enough, an energy saving monitor will really open your eyes to how much energy we all waste. These clever little gadgets will not only show you how much your using, but tell you exactly how much it's costing you too. And there's nothing better that seeing your money disappearing to get you being more energy efficient.

Energy market regulator Ofgem said today that its proposals to simplify domestic energy tariffs had been shown in trials to make price comparisons much easier. Its research suggested 85 per cent of people would be able to identify the cheapest tariff in less than half a minute and that most would start switching under its plans to make suppliers compete on unit charges with the regulator itself setting the transmission and distribution, or standing charge, element.

Ofgem made that claim as it published further details of its retail market review. It said suppliers would be pushed to implement them as soon as possible.

As well as simplifying tariffs and making bills easier to understand, Ofgem is proposing enforceable standards of supplier conduct. It has also recommended that vulnerable customers are given better protection and more help. That part though must be decided by government. Ofgem said it was "particularly keen" to discuss those protections with government.

The regulator surveyed 2000 people online, plus another 200 face to face. With most people quickly finding the cheapest tariff, 70 per cent said they would start switching as a result, according to Ofgem.

Three of the big six suppliers have already started to simplify tariffs. Most smaller suppliers already have simple tariff structures, some of which are similar to those which the regulator is now proposing.

Savvy employees are saving energy - and money - by charging up their phones and gadgets at work, costing employers up to £1.5bn.

Rising energy prices mean savvy Brits are charging up their phones and other gadgets at work and saving over £110 a year each on their household energy bills, according to new research.

When it's the boss' pocket and not our own, it seems that even simple energy efficiency measures go out of the window

With energy prices having risen by £224 or 21% in the last year, consumers looking to save on their household energy bills are doing so at the expense of their employers.

These 'cheeky chargers' are collectively costing their employers over £1.5billion a year, says the new research  Almost half (49%) charge up phones or gadgets at work, with two in ten (20%) doing so deliberately to save money on their household bills.

But it's not just deliberate energy usage that is costing employers. While consumers may be becoming more energy efficient at home, their 'green' attitudes don't extend to the workplace and this relaxed attitude towards wasting energy and resources at work is costing British businesses almost £1.4billion a year.

When added to the cost of 'cheeky charging', businesses are potentially paying out almost £3 billion a year more than they have to on their energy bills.

Even though workers take simple energy-saving steps at home, many don't extend this to the workplace.

35% leave lights on at work more than they do at home and more than four in ten (41%) leave devices plugged in when they're not in use at work, compared to just over a quarter (28%) at home.

?However, when it's the boss' pocket and not our own, it seems that even simple energy efficiency measures go out of the window. Even small measures such as turning off lights when you're not in the room and not leaving devices on standby can all help cut energy bills, whether you're at work or at home.

"And not only will it cut costs, but it will help the environment too, making it a win-win for everyone."

Almost two in ten people (19%) admit that they aren't worried about wasting energy or resources at work because it's not their pocket that is affected!

However, despite the huge costs to their businesses employers seem reluctant to crack down on wastage, with 26% turning a blind eye to employees wasting energy or charging own appliances whilst at work.

Energy customers who switch to npower's Go Fix 8 plan will now receive ?100 in Love2Shop vouchers, which can be exchanged in 85 retailers.

They are currently offering £50 of vouchers per fuel (£100 dual fuel)  

Shops involved in the deal where the vouchers can be redeemed include Homebase, Argos, River Island and Boots.

Customers should expect to receive their vouchers six weeks after their second fuel has been taken over by the energy firm, though £50 will be rewarded if only one fuel is switched.

Go Fix is an online tariff requiring payment by direct debit, and guarantees no price increases until 03/02/2013

Scottish Power are currently offering up to £80 cash back for a duel fuel switch (£40 for a single fuel) this is on top of some already very competitive tariffs, including fixed price options.

So if your thinking about switching then do it today while the offer is still available.

The rising cost of energy bills means the number of households living in fuel poverty in the UK has risen to 6.9 million.

With another cold winter predicted, recent research found that 87% of people are worried about the cost of their energy bills, a 26% rise on last year.

Almost nine in ten households - equivalent to 23 million - will ration their energy use to save on bills this year, 4 million or 16% more than last year. In an already difficult financial climate many families will face significant financial strain this winter:

As we brace ourselves for another cold winter, the vast majority of British households are facing the reality of substantially higher energy prices. Two price hikes from all the big six suppliers will put a significant strain on family finances and many will be forced to ration their energy use in order to keep a lid on bills.

Almost 7 million households are now in fuel poverty, but the alarming fact is that many more will have to go without heating to keep bills down.

Switching providers can take up to 8 weeks, so I  would urge consumers to act now to reduce their bills, a saving of up to 300 can be made for 10 minutes work online.

We must all start thinking about and managing our energy usage and there are two key steps to this - use less energy by making your home more energy efficient and pay less for the energy you do use.

By improving energy efficiency and ensuring they are on the most competitive plan for them, hopefully households can keep their winter fuel bills manageable without resorting to drastic and potentially dangerous measures.

British Gas has revealed plans to simplify its gas and electricity tariffs after admitting the industry had lost the trust of consumers.

The energy provider intends to offer just two tariffs, variable and fixed, and also make its energy bills more transparent by breaking down all the costs that make up a bill.

The managing director of the firm, Phil Bentley, also told the BBC that the practice of offering cheap deals as loss leaders to persuade customers to switch to British Gas would be stopped.

"It's not right if we are charging honest customers more [to fund these deals]," he said, having admitted the firm 'had not made it easy for customers'.

Gas and electricity providers have come under increasing fire from customers and consumer groups in recent months, standing accused of trying to baffle consumers with a vast array of deals.

Suspicion and anger has also been growing over the profits that energy firms have been making, while households struggle to find the money to pay rising bills.

Only last month, industry regulator Ofgem put forward a raft of proposals aimed at forcing providers to introduce simple tariffs, clearer bills and annual statements.

While British Gas has now broken cover, e.on announced earlier this week it would be reviewing its tariffs, bills and selling practices over the course of the next six months.

Any move by the Big Six suppliers to make their dealings with customers more transparent and to simplify tariffs is welcome, but we would like to see the cost of energy start to come down as well.

The major providers have been badly bruised and chastened by the recent public reaction and British Gas managing director Phil Bentley admitting his company has not "made it easy for customers" is a welcome show of humility and honesty," he added.

"However, British Gas needs to look at its pricing policies and also at its discounting structures which many customers say to us are just too complex.

"Most people switch on price alone and unless these two issues are addressed the company may struggle to attract new business.

"While people want simplicity and transparency in their dealings with energy companies, they tend to want savings more.

"Households can save up to a quarter of the annual bill by switching, which for a few minutes work has got to be worth considering in these austere times."

Watchdog Consumer Focus said there had been 70 new tariffs launched this year by energy companies, bringing the total to about 400. It said that simplifying tariffs would not have a direct effect on prices, but will at least make it easiers for consumers to understand the bills.

Energy is a simple product, it should also be a simple market. Reducing the number and complexity of tariffs will not bring prices down by itself, but it will help people understand their energy costs and get the best deal available," said Adam Scorer, of Consumer Focus.

Energy company E.On said its own review would take six months to complete, and would look at tariffs, bills, customer support and how it sells its products.

Scottish and Southern Energy said in October that it was reducing the number of tariffs it offered by 20%.

Ofgem has said that it wants to see one standard tariff per fuel per payment option - such as by direct debit, prepayment meter, or cash or cheque.

It said fixed-term contracts would also be allowed, where the price would be unchanged or track a particular index. More details on its plans will be published in the next couple of weeks.

As well as calling for simpler tariffs following its review, the regulator said that it had found evidence the so-called big six energy firms had increased their prices in response to rising costs more quickly than they had lowered them in response to costs falling.

The suppliers, it said, should face more competition.

Recent price rises on gas and electricity bills this summer mean that suppliers are making £125 of profit from the typical standard tariff, duel fuel customer each year - up from £15 in June, according to recent figures from regulator Ofgem. Energy suppliers say that wholesale gas and electricity price rises have forced them to raise bills, and that continued high wholesale costs will bring profit margins lower again through next year.However, figures from Ofgem suggest bills have risen by far more than wholesale prices. The regulator said wholesale costs will on average £605 a year per customer from October, compared to £570 in June.

EDF Energy was the last of the 'big six' energy firms to announce a price increase earlier this year. The firm put up its gas prices by 15.4 per cent and electricity prices by 4.5 per cent from 10 November.

EDF has joined npower, E.ON, Scottish and Southern Energy, British Gas and Scottish Power in raising prices over the summer.

There are no guarantees that prices will not rise further but it is fair to assume prices will stay at these levels for a period. There is pressure on suppliers following news that the regulator Ofgem is to investigate energy pricing and none will be quick to push yet more rises before the winter period when most energy is used.

It means now is a good time to switch supplier and be sure that you will stay on the best tariff for a good while.

Should you switch?

Switching energy bills can save you up to £310 a year, according to unravelit.com. However, this level of saving is only likely if you've never switched provider and are not signed up to a duel fuel, online tariff paying by direct debit. If you already do this then the saving will be much smaller, but still worthwhile.The comparison process is very complex, there are over 400 tariffs on the market.Some tariffs are based on one fixed price for a unit of energy - the type of tariff Ofgem is trying to force suppliers to offer - while others are based on a two tier system, charging customers more for the first proportion of energy they use and reducing the rate for energy used after that.

One rate tariffs charge all customers the same rate, while two tier tariffs favour high energy users who effectively get a discount on using more energy. Small users are penalised by the higher introductory rate.

To fix or not to fix?

Consumers pay a premium to fix their bills with a fixed price tariff. Tariffs of this type will fix the rate you pay for a period, typically 18 months, but you pay slightly more than the cheapest deals to buy that security.

There is no guarantee fixing will be best for the long-term but it gives certainty over bills as household finances are squeezed. Online plans (which are not fixed) are still the most competitively priced, and if you have never switched, choosing one of these will save you the most money.

Price comparison services, like the one here at unravelit.com allow you to specify which type of tariff you want.

The UK energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said that households across the country should look to shop around and switch energy suppliers to find a better deal for their gas and electricity.

The energy prices rises in 2011 from all of the big 6 energy suppliers have been criticised by many as over the top in a time of rising inflation and when the energy suppliers themselves keep announcing higher profits.

Recently a summit was held to with the big 6 and the prime minister David Cameron to try and set a road map to work harder to try and help bring down consumers bills.

The prime minister has said that the UK government needs to work faster and harder to bring down energy bills.

We should be checking to see whether or not were on the cheapest tariff, Mr Huhne said after the summit.

We should be switching if were not on the cheapest tariff and taking the opportunity ahead of this winter to really make sure that were insulating so that we can save money.

Four of the big six suppliers, British gas, Scottish Power, Npower and EDF Energy have all said that they will not put their energy prices up again this year. But that is a marketing smoke screen as all energy suppliers will look ahead to the winter and forward buy up to 75% of the energy demand in the summer time, so they have already worked out what they need, bought a good percentage of it and put up their prices.

With the average energy bill well over the ?1000 mark it is a great endorsement for comparison sites which help the consumer to shop around to save money to be at the forefront of trying to drive the prime ministers message of you have the right to switch and save on your energy bills.

Take these 3 steps to reduce your electricity bill by 40% instead
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The government's 2009 fiscal budget is unlikely to contain help for UK energy consumers. Whatever money may have been available to directly support consumers was spent on bailing out banks, and implementing a cut on VAT, which excluded energy.
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Energy consumers will not be bailed out by the government, even though the cost of gas and electricity now exceeds of most households disposable income. Consumers are only now paying now for their winter usage of the past month, and sky-high energy rates mean that many households will certainly be struggling to pay for gas and electricity.
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We encourage you to follow these 3 tried-and-tested easy steps to take control of your own energy budget and cut your payments by up to 40% within weeks.
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Step 1: Get the right information.
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Do you really know how much energy you use in your home, at what times, and do you know which appliances do most damage to your bill?
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Staying in control of your costs is now surprisingly easy, thanks to cheap and innovative new technology. Simply invest in a wireless electricity usage monitor (about GB40 in any decent electronics store ie Argos or Maplin) and you'll be in for a guaranteed surprise!
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To test this for ourselves, we were kindly provided a device by energy supplier E.ON, which we tested in our own homes for a number of weeks. The results are astonishing. We now know that lighting makes up nearly 40% of our energy bill, far more than we expected, and that leaving the coffee machine in standby cost about GB10 a month. Each towel rail, on the other hand also cost GB10 per month to keep running.
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There were positive surprises, too - for example, computers and flat screen television screens did not consume as much energy as we had expected them to.
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Needless to say, we will now be replacing our 50 Watt halogen lighting with lower wattage bulbs. The coffee machine no longer idles away unused and the towel rails are on a timer. Hardly a sacrifice, and our monthly bill has come down by approximately 10%.
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The monitor we used was installed in a matter of minutes, by clipping a sensor around the electric wire that connects the meter to the fuse box. The separate display device, which can be placed anywhere in the house, then instantly reads out the usage in real-time.
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If you switch to E.ON's Energy Saver v8 tariff with this service, you can even get one of these devices for free with the welcome pack.
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Result: Knowing how you use electricity will enable you to make easy changes, and help you save at least 10% on your bill.
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Step 2: Make sure you don't overpay
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Consumers who pay by Direct Debit should contact their supplier now and ask to review their monthly payments. Take down a meter reading, get the phone number from your last bill and ask your supplier to adjust your direct debit amounts for the summer months ahead, when you will be using less energy. If you have already run up a credit of GB150 or more, ask for your money back this is your right as a consumer.
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Result: Adjusting your Direct Debit at this time of the year can save 10% on your Direct Debit.
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Step 3: Switch.
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Suppliers have in recent weeks launched attractive new rates, lifting the average savings from switching to about 20% - that's even if you switched last year. Even better, some of the most attractive rates are online-only deals (all available through this service) and suppliers now offer energy monitoring software through their websites, as part of the package. British Gas and E.ON have the best online energy efficiency services that we have seen.
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Result: Switching energy supplier currently saves 20%
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So, in summary, the message from the budget will be that we're on our own when it comes to containing the high cost of energy. Suppliers, on the other hand, will only offer you the best deal if you check the best available offers, if you stay on your current rate, you may well be losing out. And our experience with the usage monitor suggests that there are easy ways to help you reduce consumption.
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Florian Ritzmann is Product Director at online comparison service Xelector.com, and has been working with energy suppliers for 10 years.

E.ON releases a great new offer for cash-strapped gas and electricity customers

On April 1st, the price drops announced by the leading energy suppliers became effective. Yet these new prices won't do much to help beleaguered consumers. As the table at the bottom of this article shows, energy remains very expensive. Furthermore, now that it is warmer and we need less energy anyway, the effect of the price cuts are not going to be as helpful as they would have been during the bitter cold period of months past.

But on the positive side, there now is a wealth of new discount tariffs to choose from. The one offer that stands out at this point is E.ON's just-released, Fix Online tariff. As the name suggests, the product is a fixed price product, which guarantees the cost of your energy until 1st of June 2010, and it is available online only, through this service.

Since its launch just a few days ago, the offer has already been taken up by thousands of customers because unlike most other Fixed or Capped price tariffs this one is actually really cheap. Here are the details: prices are guaranteed to stay put until June 1st 2010. Customers must agree to service their account on the E.ON website, and in keeping with E.ON's common tradition the tariff also comes with Tesco Clubcard Points (1 Point for every £2 spent on energy).

To see how this tariff works out for your circumstances, please use our comparison service which compares the entire market. It is important that you compare prices first, your savings vary depending on where you live, how much energy you use and who you are using now for gas and electricity. Please also note that E.ON will charge a £30 penalty (£10 for electricity-only customers) if you don't stay with E.ON for the duration of the guarantee period.

Don't delay or you might be disappointed. Customers have already used our comparison service to switch to this tariff in strong numbers, so this tariff might not be around for long. Energy tariffs are sold on a first-come-first-serve basis, so once E.ON has met its target, the tariff will be withdrawn.

Table 1 Major price change announcements by leading supplier

This article also appeared on AOL and can be seen here

If you've ever wondered how energy switching sites work and if you're really getting the best deal by using them, then Simon Moynihan has some answers.

The home energy market

The home energy market can be bewildering. There are over 11,000 energy tariffs and dozens of energy suppliers out there. How you pay, whether you get your statements in the post or over the internet and of course how much you use all determine the size of your energy bills.

If you pay by direct debit you pay less. If you have a prepayment meter you pay more. If you take your gas and electricity from the same company you get a discount. Some suppliers pay discounts annually, some pay quarterly. Some are green and some are brown, and some are just expensive.

Big differences in cost

Even if you pay by direct debit and take gas and electricity from the same big name supplier you can fork out way more than you need to. Changing your supplier will not get you better electricity, or warmer gas. But it may be cheaper. Much cheaper. And that's where the comparison sites come in.

Simplifying one of the most complicated markets in the UK is a growing business. The idea is to list all available tariffs and rates according to price so you the consumer can easily choose the cheapest.

How they work

How they work is simple enough. You tell a comparison service who your suppliers are, how much gas and electricity you use, where you live and how you pay your bill. The comparison service then runs this information against all currently available tariffs in your region and gives you a table of results based on price. You'll be told how much you could save in a year, what the annual cost will be for your gas and electricity and if you want to switch, you can usually do so right there and then.

Energy comparison sites are essentially brokers. They earn commissions from suppliers for referring new customers. These commissions in turn make it possible for the sites to keep providing up-to-date information on all deals available.

Why energy companies use comparison sites

Energy companies know that most of their new customers come from comparison services and they play into it. If a big supplier is on a drive for new customers, it will launch a new tariff with new rates and target the top of the comparison charts. If they are number one, they will get the largest share of new customers. When they have as many as they want, they will "withdraw" the tariff and "launch" another one.

This kind of launching and re-launching of tariffs can be seen in their names. You can now sign up to E.ON Energy Online Extra Saver 12 or npower Sign Online 14. You may have already signed up to Click Energy 6 from British Gas. The suppliers skilfully nudge one another off the top spot in a game of one-upmanship that is determined by wholesale prices, market forces and of course the desire for new customers.

This is good news for consumers and the key is to take advantage of suppliers' cheapest offerings. Right now for an average customer living in London, the difference between npower's standard rate and their cheapest tariff is nearly £150. And if you're an npower customer, you can switch your npower tariff to their cheapest rate using a comparison service. This is because npower knows that if you're on a switching site, you're looking for a better deal. And they'll give you one to keep you as a customer, so shopping around is essential.

Special deals

A common misconception is that suppliers offer special rates to particular comparison sites. They don't. The deal you see on one is the same deal on another. You can test this by entering the same information on different services and you should come out with the same results.

One thing is true though. Some suppliers don't have relationships with certain comparison services. Some of the best known comparison services are unable to switch customers to some of the best deals. If the best deal is listed on the comparison service you're using and you're unable to switch because it's unavailable, use another service where you can switch to that supplier!

Can you trust comparison sites to be accurate and impartial?

The energy regulator Ofgem recommends the use of comparison services to find the best deals and watchdog Consumer Focus manages the code that regulates most comparison sites. The code has very strict rules on how results are listed and comparison services are audited regularly.

Although comparison sites want you to switch because they'll earn a commission, they still want you to get the best deal in an open and clear way. If you use them once and save? money, the hope is that you'll trust them and use them again. It's in nobodys interest to provide misleading results.

Who can save money?

According to Ofgem, half of UK households have never switched. These households will usually save the most. But because deals are always changing and prices fluctuate, there are always new deals coming on the market. Checking your tariff every six months to a year is a good way to stay ahead of the game and make sure you're on the best deal.

Is one comparison service better than another?

All comparison sites would like to think so! But the truth is that most of them list savings and prices in an accurate and easy to understand way. In addition to regulation, they test each others? sites regularly and if any discrepancies are found, they are reported to the watchdog.

As a consumer you need choice and ease of use. It is true that some comparison services are able to switch you to more suppliers than others. This is what makes a better comparison service. Accurate, impartial results and easy switching to the biggest choice of suppliers and the best deals.

Simon Moynihan is the Consumer Insight Manager for Xelector

first:utility, a company which has provided telephone services in the UK for many years, has recently expanded into the gas and electricity market with an innovative solution to an age-old problem - estimated, inaccurate billing.

It is not widely known, but your energy supplier is not required to come by more than once every two years to read your gas or electricity meters. So unless you are a diligent customer and regularly provide your own meter readings, you probably know firsthand how badly wrong a supplier can get it when setting direct debit amounts or generating statements.

But enough of that - first:utility have bravely thrown their hat in the ring, and are promising customers frustrated with the slow pace of change in the energy industry, a new 'smart' energy meter, free of charge. This new meter works by communicating directly with first:utility using GSM (mobile phone) technology. Your energy usage is periodically fed back to first:utility, allowing the company to always use real usage data when generating bills and setting direct debits.

Even better, first:utility will let customer analyse their energy usage online, or by using a handheld remote device that comes with the meter. Experts believe that knowing their energy usage profile can help users take easy steps to reduce consumption by up to 10%.

So what's the catch? You do need to stay with first:utilita for 2 years, or else there is a GBP100 exit penalty, but given that the meter installation is currently free that's fair enough. After that you can switch and we have been told that no matter where you take your energy supply, the new meter will still work, albeit without the smart function.

first:utility are based in Leamington Spa, and their offer is available throughout England, Scotland and Wales through this service.

Last Thursday, British Gas announced a 10% reduction in the price of gas for most of its customers. Any price cut is good news, but what was left out of British Gas' announcement is also of significance. Firstly, Britain's largest supplier did not announce any reduction in the price of electricity - which British Gas supplies to about 6 million households. Secondly, the company did not publish the new rates with the announcement.

British Gas' announcement should be seen as the first move in a poker game that is likely to last another four weeks, when British Gas' announcement becomes effective. Here is what you must know to benefit.

10% - is that it?

Probably yes. British Gas is the biggest gas supplier in the UK, so if it lowers its price by 10%, other suppliers won't feel pressure to move prices by more. Things may be different with electricity, where British Gas may well have taken the decision to wait for another supplier to cut first. In other words, a small cut on electricity (probably less than 10% across the board), is still on the cards in the coming weeks.

So when should I look for the best deal?

Because energy consumption varies by season, our tip is to check for the best rate when it is cold. We do not recommend waiting for a particular moment, as is sometimes recommended by other experts.

Anytime in the next four weeks will be a good time, but know this: energy suppliers tend to offer very attractive discount rates to sign up new customers.

These tariffs tend to be "versioned". This means that any particular version of a tariff is available for a few months only, before being replaced by the next version. Because energy prices have fallen since the summer, the next version of the same tariff is likely to be cheaper than the previous. By visiting a price comparison calculator every six months, you will be able to see if the deal that you signed up for is still the best.

What should I look out for?

The notes above should give you an idea of the main differences between the leading suppliers. There is more information on our website (and many more tariffs to choose from), so ensure that you read up on everything before signing up for a supplier switch.

Should I sign up for a guaranteed capped deal?

Capped prices (where unit rates are either fixed, or guaranteed not to rise for a set period of time) are important if you need to make sure that your energy budget remains stable. As a rule of thumb, a capped deal is recommended if it was within 10% of the cheapest uncapped offer, and if the capped period was for two years or more. If no such offer can be found, it is better to go for the cheapest uncapped deal.

I signed up for a capped price offer last year - what should I do?

This depends on when you signed up, as capped prices are all versioned. For example, if you signed up 12 months ago, when the market was awash in cheap long-term pricefix deals, then we strongly recommend that you stay where you are. Your rates would have been set way before the explosion in energy prices that drove the increases of last summer.

However, if you signed up after August 2008, then the picture is more varied, as you are likely to be on rates that could be significantly above current market prices. In either case, think carefully before abandoning your current capped rate.

Compare suppliers to determine the price difference between your current capped rate and the best offer, but also check with your supplier whether you'd be liable to pay a penalty if you leave your current capped offer before the end of the price guarantee period. Only consider switching if there is a saving to be had after paying such a penalty.

Should I go direct to the supplier?

We do not recommend this. Comparing and switching through our comparison service means that on those rare occasions where things go wrong and your supply is not taken over within the standard four weeks, you can fall back on us to help you out.

There have also been cases where customers ended up signing up to the wrong tariff, after contacting the supplier directly. Finally, you won't get it even cheaper by going direct. You cannot negotiate rates directly with an energy supplier to get an extra discount for your home.

We hope that with this information you'll be able to make the best decision for you and your family in the coming days and weeks. Don't forget to check out our comparison service, which can offer a lot more still.

Prices for flat-screen TVs are falling fast and with the January sales in full swing, it's a great time to find a bargain. On the high street this month, a quality 42" plasma TV can cost as little as £500 and an LCD of the same size will set you back only £600.

Almost all new TVs sold in the UK now are flat-screen, and when buying a new TV most consumers upgrade not just in style and technology, but also in size. The Energy Savings Trust says that the average flat-panel is now 50% larger than the TV it replaces.

Although prices on new TVs have never been lower, the running costs are much higher than their old-school predecessors. Most consumers aren't aware of the extra energy expense when shopping for a new TV but upgrading to flat-panel could cost you more than three times more to run than your old TV.

How much more energy does a new TV actually use?
A conventional 28" TV uses about 100 watts of electricity. A new 42" LCD TV will use about twice that, but it's the plasma TV that's the real energy-hog. An efficient 42" plasma TV will use about 300 watts and if the display is set to high and bright, it will use much more - up to 500 watts - making it the SUV of TVs.

Most TVs are on for about five hours a day and with a standard old TV, that would account for about 3% of annual household energy usage. A plasma will increase its share of your household electricity bill to about 10%. But it's not just new TVs that are adding to our energy bills. Xboxes, Playstations and set-top-boxes will add to that again. In fact, an Xbox 360 uses almost as much electricity when played as a plasma TV. When put together, your new TV and games console could add £100 a year to you electricity bill.

Legislation in the US
Across the pond in California, the extra energy used by flat-screens is causing such a worry to legislators that they are planning to pass laws banning retailers from selling all but the most efficient models. The new laws set to come into effect in 2011 are part of a larger plan to ease pressure on California's ageing grid. With an ageing grid here as well, it can only be a matter of time before MPs start looking at our TVs too.

To reduce the effect you new TV has on your pocket, look at the energy ratings before buying. Plasma TVs use much more energy, but they are becoming more efficient. And if you don't need a monster TV, go for an LCD.

Of course, you can compensate for the added usage of your new TV by cutting consumption elsewhere in your home such as shutting off standby gadgets, using efficient lighting and adding power-saver plugs. But if you've already taken these steps, the easiest way to offset the inevitable increase in cost is to switch energy suppliers to the cheapest deal. If you haven't switched for a while, you could save 15% so even with your new TV; you'll still come out ahead.

This article also appeared on MSN

Wholesale prices for energy have eased away from the extreme highs of 2008, raising expectations of price cuts on gas and electricity in the UK. Consumer groups and the government alike have begun calling for a reduction in domestic gas and electricity prices, creating a widely-held belief that such cuts are imminent.

Yet while the hopes of such cuts remain alive, dark clouds have begun to gather which might result in the delay, reduction, or cancellation of any planned price cuts.

What has happened?
The Russian prime minister recently said that "despite the current problems in finances, the era of cheap energy resources, of cheap gas, is of course coming to an end."

Oil prices up on Russia's announcement
In other words, the most powerful man in Russia is determined to keep high the price of his country's energy resources. This determination is already being played out: using the pretext of a billing dispute with Ukraine, Russia last week cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. The unresolved dispute is significant, as Ukraine hosts a major gas pipeline that connect Russia's gas fields with the west.

Quite predictably, the dispute has already resulted in major supply disruptions amongst many European countries, prompting a leading German supplier to state that its gas supplies via Ukraine had been "massively reduced", going so far as to predict that deliveries would completely stop in the next few days.

Gas markets are reacting nervously, wholesale prices are climbing
Should the cold weather of recent days continue for much longer, or the Ukrainian - Russian dispute prove as difficult to resolve as a similar conflict in 2006, British suppliers will hesitate to cut the price of energy by a significant amount, leaving most consumers to struggle though the cold of winter on sky-high rates.

But even beyond the current winter term, there are other powerful challenges which will translate into permanently high prices for gas and electricity.

A new gas OPEC to dictate prices
The price of gas has historically followed the price of oil, not least because many oil fields also produce natural gas as a by-product. The world's leading gas producers (Russia, Iran and Qatar account for 60% of world natural gas production) have over the last two years set up a new OPEC-style gas cartel. This new organisation will give its members the power to decouple the price of natural gas from oil.

The creation of a gas OPEC illustrates how energy-exporting countries have tightened their control over pricing in recent years, thus making a return to cheap energy highly unlikely. And because the UK uses natural gas to produce 40% of its electricity, prices there will continue to rise too.

The cost of the UK's energy policy
The UK government needs to secure the long-term supply of energy to the UK, without sacrificing the environment. Renewable energy and nuclear power therefore loom large in the government's energy policies. Creating clean new energy generation capacity is necessary, now that the UK's own North Sea resources are declining. the extremely high cost of diversifying the UK's electricity generation capacity will be paid for by the UK energy consumer through rising bills for decades to come.

Suppliers have never reduced prices in the past
After record price increases in 2006, energy suppliers in early 2007 trumpeted price cuts between 10-15% on the back of falling wholesale energy prices. But with 2007 wholesale prices off of their 2006 peak by as much as 65%, it is safe to say that suppliers made token (and short-term) price cuts only. The balance of the benefits found its way into the pockets of the suppliers, who all announced blockbuster profits in 2007.

The simple lesson is that there will be no letup to rising energy prices for the coming years if not decades:
- Those countries who give us our energy have gained control over the price at which they sell it.
- To reduce our dependence on energy imports and to generate clean electricity will cost astronomical amounts of money.
- Energy suppliers are businesses, not friends.

Switch and reduce
Suppliers do compete for your business and constantly introduce cheap tariffs to attract new customers. Savings are attractive - you can currently shave 20% (that's nearly £200) off the average bill just by switching to the best deal. Once you have switched you need to stay on your toes, as your supplier will not reward loyalty.

Suppliers will always offer the best deal to new customers, not their existing ones, so take action to ensure that you remain on the best deal - keep track of your consumption and visit comparison services on a regular basis.

Use less energy
Visit the Energy Savings Trust for a one-stop shop to help take control of your energy consumption. Learn where and how most of your energy is consumed at home, and then take steps to cut back. The site even offers a very helpful calculator to find home energy efficiency improvement grants.

So switch now and use less energy before the worst of the winter bills arrive on your doorstep.

This article also appeared on MSN

Why energy will never be cheap again

By Florian Ritzmann


Wholesale prices for energy have taken a tumble recently and, with the UK economy in full retreat, expectations for price cuts on gas and electricity have risen. Suppliers have pushed through 40% increases in 2008 by blaming sky-high oil prices - so now that the price of oil has halved, the price you pay for your gas and electricity should follow, right?

Wrong.

There are three powerful reasons why you will keep paying more for your gas and electricity through 2009 and beyond.

A new gas Opec to dictate prices

The price of gas has historically followed the price of oil, not least because many oil fields also produce natural gas as a byproduct. The world's leading gas producers (Russia, Iran and Qatar account for 60% of world natural gas production) have set up a new Opec-style gas cartel over the past two years. This new organisation, whose charter will be finalised in Moscow this month, will give its members the power to decouple the price of natural gas from that of oil.

The creation of a gas Opec illustrates how energy-exporting countries have tightened their control over pricing in recent years, thus making a return to cheap energy highly unlikely. And because the UK uses natural gas to produce 40% of its electricity, prices there will continue to rise too.

The cost of the UK's energy policy

The UK government needs to secure the long-term supply of energy to Britain but without sacrificing the environment. Renewable energy and nuclear power therefore loom large in the government's energy policies. Creating clean new energy generation capacity is necessary now that the UK's own North Sea resources are declining. However, the extremely high cost of diversifying the UK's electricity generation capacity will be paid for by the UK energy consumer through rising bills for decades to come.

Suppliers have never reduced prices in the past

After record price increases in 2006, energy suppliers in early 2007 trumpeted price cuts of between 10-15% on the back of falling wholesale energy prices. But with 2007 wholesale prices down from their 2006 peak by as much as 65%, it is safe to say suppliers made token (and short-term) price cuts only. The balance of the benefits found its way into the pockets of the suppliers, who all announced blockbuster profits in 2007.

The simple lesson is that there will be no letup to rising energy prices for the coming years if not decades:

- Those countries who give us our energy have gained control over the price at which they sell it.

- To reduce our dependence on energy exports and to generate clean electricity will cost an astronomical amount.

- Energy suppliers are businesses, not friends.

Short and simple advice to UK consumers

Switch energy supplier using independent price comparison services. Suppliers do compete for your business and constantly introduce new cheap tariffs to attract new customers. Savings are attractive - you can currently shave 20% (that's nearly £200) off the average bill just by switching to the best deal.

Once you have switched you need to stay on your toes, as your supplier will not reward your loyalty. Suppliers will always offer the best deal to new customers, not their existing ones.

Use less energy

Visit the excellent Energy Savings Trust for a one-stop shop to help take control of your energy consumption. Learn where and how most of your energy is consumed at home, and then take steps to cut back. The site even offers a very helpful calculator to help you.

So switch now and use less energy before the worst of the winter bills arrive on your doorstep.

This article appeared on MSN

Simon Moynihan

As we move into October, home energy bills are arriving and UK households are seeing in bold print the effect of the summer's staggering price increases. It's estimated that bills this winter will be 40% higher than they were last year and experts believe that without government intervention, prices will increase again in the New Year.

These shock price increases have led many people to take action, and gas and electricity comparison services have seen a surge in the number of people checking for better deals - more people switched suppliers in August than any other month this year.

Energy comparison services are a great way to find the best deal on home energy, but the results are only as good as the information you provide. If you want to make sure you sign up to the best deal, you must know how much gas and electricity you use. Unlike our European neighbours, this information is not on our bills, but can be obtained with one short call to your supplier.

Knowing how much you use is important because the suppliers compete in different niches of the market. Some are cheaper for high users, some are cheaper for average users and there are an array of tariffs catering for everything from electricity only users, customers with Economy 7 night storage heaters and prepay customers to name a few.

Before contacting your supplier, check your meters and write down the readings. Call your energy company, give them the readings and ask how much gas and electricity you have used in the previous 12 months. You will be given your usage in kilowatt hours (kW/h). If you have an Economy 7 meter, make sure they tell you how much electricity was used at the night rate. The average home in the UK uses 3300 kW/h of electricity and 20,500 kW/h of gas per year.

When you know your annual consumption, use an Energywatch accredited comparison service like the ours to check for the best supplier. You'll be able to see how much your current supplier will charge in the coming year and how much all other suppliers will charge for the same amount of gas and electricity.

Running a comparison based on your annual spend or your monthly direct debits can provide you with a good idea of the best supplier but recent price changes and inaccuracies with direct debit can sometimes skew the results. So make that phone call. It will save you money, and if you want to try and reduce your usage in the coming year, it's the best information you can have. Best of all, if you switch, you should be able to get your direct debit just right, so it'll only need adjusting if prices change.

When you look at switching, do be aware of tariffs that may change in price soon. After the recent price hikes, two of the major suppliers kept their internet tariffs unchanged, scooped up customers looking to switch to a cheaper provider and then increased prices before many of them even went on supply. A number of quality price comparison sites, including ours, have now introduced price change alerts on their results pages to help warn customers of imminent rate hikes like these.

It is also worth being aware of energy company reps and promotions. At this time of year, the big suppliers know that people are thinking of switching before the colder winter weather takes hold, so they up their efforts to get new customers by phoning your home, calling door-to-door and running big promotions.

Be careful! If you are being pitched to switch, the company representatives may be right that their company is cheaper than yours, but they are not showing you the whole picture. There will almost certainly be a better deal available elsewhere because door-steppers and cold-callers only sell standard high-price deals. And worse, they can rarely if ever put you on their own company's best deal. Using an accredited energy comparison service to see the whole market will get you the best results.

For the 50% of us that have never switched, now should be the time. Prices have skyrocketed of course, but average user paying by cheque is handing over almost £20 per month more than he needs to. Gas and electricity are undifferentiated products, electricity from one company won't run your appliances any better than electricity from another, so why pay more than you need for it?

To get the best deal:

• Read your meters
• Call your supplier and provide the readings
• Ask how much gas and electricity you've used in the previous 12 months
• Compare all deals using an accredited energy comparison service
• Watch out for tariffs that may change in price soon
• Find to the cheapest deal or the one that suits your needs best
• Remember that paying by direct debit and managing your account online is usually cheapest
• Switch!

Energy companies respond to market forces and rarely reward loyalty. They usually only offer the best deals to new customers. So play them at their own game, find the best deal and be a new customer. It could save you a bundle.

The government today announced a package of measures to help the country cope with soaring fuel bills. These measures include:

• A partial reversal of previously announced cuts for the government's warm front scheme, which provides support to households on pension credit with the installation of central heating
• Doubling of winter fuel payments to pensioners. Help for disabled and families with children under five - but only if the coming winter is severe
• Free or half price insulation offers for all families and a price freeze for the remainder of this year for the poorest families

The measures have already been criticised as being overly focused on inducing long-term reductions in energy consumption, while providing little help for average families struggling to pay their bills this coming winter.

The current vagueness around the implementation of the longer term measures does not help. For example, it is unclear how the insulation offers will be marketed by the energy suppliers, and what the take-up will be.

The value of offering a price freeze for the poorest for the rest of the year (a period of a little over 3 months!) is also in doubt. The consensus is that suppliers had no intention of raising prices this year anyway, but that they will probably put through further increases in the New Year.

The measures also don't seem to include any new energy tariff initiatives that might help incentivise UK energy consumers to reduce their consumption, for example by introducing attractive fixed rate one year packages with usage limits.

We are also sorely missing any new initiatives to make bills more useful to the consumer, or example by forcing suppliers to clearly show the last 12 months of usage on every statement, within the context of the national average.

Most importantly, we are missing any special help for customers who use Prepayment meters - the most expensive way to purchase gas and electricity - and which are present in about 10% of UK households.

We were hoping that suppliers would be forced to offer their customers a free meter replacement, so that those willing and able to pay quarterly or by monthly Direct Debit, could benefit from cheaper prices, but this was not part of the package that was announced.

So unfortunately, the government's efforts are not going to help you this winter with the 25-35% extra that you will have to pay for your gas and electricity. This is the sad fact.

For the average family. the only way to save money on the energy bills is to somehow use less energy in the future and to switch to a cheaper tariff deal from another supplier, this can easily save up to 20%, so we do recommend that consumers take this step first.

Together with the terrible weather, shock increases on the price of gas and electricity have been distasteful features of this summer. And while we may yet enjoy a sunny autumn season, there is unfortunately no end in sight to spiralling energy prices, as energy providers are already setting their sights on further hikes of about 20% by early next year.

So if you have just come home from your summer holiday, here is the dismal picture of what you can look forward to:

From now on, UK consumers will have no option but to pay attention to their energy bills, or else these increases - when taking into account the rising cost of living overall will end up causing real hardship. So here is what to do if Eat or Heat, could be a question for you this winter.

Get a capped rate or the cheapest discount alternative

You may be thinking that you have missed out on signing up to the cheapest fixed price energy deal, these are limited availability tariffs that come with a guarantee against price increases.

The good news is that some suppliers have now re-entered the ring by offering between 1 to 3 years fixed Price tariffs, which are available from our comparison service

If you cannot find a capped rate that works within your budget, switch to the cheapest deal overall using our service, there are savings available of up to £300 on an annualised basis, but be prepared to switch again in 4-6 month's time when you are notified of a price increase. So be an aware consumer and keep your eyes peeled for deals, that means know where your bills are and have them ready so you can act when that price increase announcement comes through

Contact your supplier.

If you are already struggling with your bills or are in arrears at this time of year (when consumption is low), then that is a sign of trouble ahead for the winter. Contact your supplier and discuss your options, here are the hard and fast rules about being in debt to your supplier

• If you are in debt as a result of inaccurate billing, then the repayment of that debt should take as long as it took to run up the debt. For example, if you have not been billed correctly for a number of years, then your repayments should take just as long.
• Several Trust Funds exist to help people in serious difficulties, your supplier will know about these and will be able to tell you about your eligibility. Ask your supplier for an entitlement check, to find out what help is available.
• If you believe you are at risk, and someone in your household is of pensionable age, disabled or chronically sick, ask your supplier to add you to the Priority Services Register, which can be useful if you find yourself in debt later (if you are on that list, the supplier should offer you additional assistance).

Dealing with Disconnection

Suppliers can disconnect a home if no agreement is reached about debt settlements. The exceptions are:

• Elderly or chronically sick customer may not be disconnected during the winter months (October to March)
• If a debt is with a previous supplier, not the current supplier
• If a debt is not related to your gas and electricity consumption (for example if a customer defaults on the repayments of a boiler bought from the supplier)
• When a customer is officially declared bankrupt

There is no disconnection exception for families with small children.

In the event of disconnection, suppliers will provide instructions on how to get a household reconnected. Here are the things to note:

• Reconnection charges usually apply, and reconnection is usually made only after a debt settlement has been reached.
• The supplier may suggest to install a pre-payment meter at the property in order to reconnect and while this may be tempting, customers should know that getting your energy via prepayment meters costs about 20% more, which will not help in reducing energy bills
• Reconnection can take a week or more, as an engineer will have to come to the property, so customers are advised to keep engaging their suppliers to avoid disconnection in the first place
  
  

You may be able to get a Crisis Loan from the Department of Work and Pension if you cannot afford the reconnection fee. Click here for more information http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/sb16/crisis.asp. This is an interest free loan from the Government. You will have to prove that you genuinely cannot afford to pay the reconnection fee, so this really is an option of last resort only.

Reducing your consumption

Paying more for each unit of gas and electricity is unavoidable given the recent price increases, but by using less energy, it is still possible to take the edge of price increases. The key is to act now, and take the necessary steps before the onset of colder weather. We recommend that you trawl through www.energysavingstrust.org.uk for ideas and also to check whether you may be eligible for a free home insulation improvement grant.

To keep in touch about future free energy benefits, you can sign up to the energywatch newsletter service. To register with energwatch click here http://www.energywatch.org.uk/help_and_advice/free_services/index.asp

Most important in dealing with the issue of energy debt is not to ignore it. Your supplier must offer you options if you are in trouble, and just by contacting them to talk about the problem you will be buying yourself valuable time.

Looking back, 30^th of July 2008 might well be marked as a watershed date for Britain's energy consumers. On that date, British Gas announced an unprecedented increase on the price of gas - an astounding 35% - marking the single biggest increase ever announced by any of the big six suppliers in the UK.

Because most consumers already pay about 60% of their household energy bills on gas, British Gas decision to raise electricity prices by only 9% at the same time will do nothing to undo the damage that has been done.

The energy markets are still struggling with the aftermath of this shock. Four of the Big 6 energy suppliers (E.ON, npower, ScottishPower, and the Scottish and Southern Group), which together supply about 70% of the UK's households, are furiously working their calculators, deciding by how much to up their own standard rate prices.

So while this is going on, what should energy consumers do to protect themselves?

First of all get angry. Suppliers are not about to reward you for loyalty. If you have not recently switched tariff or supplier, you will gain nothing by doing nothing.

Come early November, the effect of these recent price increases will be felt. And the effect will be massive if you have been paying £70 a month on your gas direct debit the average of what we see go through our service then your new annual gas bill will suddenly be £1,130. You need to ask yourself: can I really afford that?

Secondly start looking. You may be thinking that you have missed out on signing up to the cheapest fixed price energy deal, these are limited availability tariffs that come with a guarantee against price increases.

The good news is that ScottishPower has now re-entered the ring by offering an attractive one year price fix tariff which is available from our service (if you are currently supplier by ScottishPower you will need to contact them directly).

So now is a good time to look again. The ScottishPower offer does generally compare favourably against the current British Gas 2011 offer and the EDF Fixed Price 2009 offers (both available from the suppliers directly, but shown on our service for comparison purposes).

Thirdly switch tactically. If you cannot find a capped rate that works within your budget, switch to the cheapest deal overall using our service, there are savings available of up to £300 on an annualised basis, but be prepared to switch again in 4-6 month's time when you are notified of a price increase. So be an aware consumer and keep your eyes peeled for deals, that means know where your bills are and have them ready so you can act when that price increase announcement comes through.

Finally use less energy. When energy prices increase by 35% in one hit and there is no end in sight to future price increases, something has to give. Just visit the Energy Savings Trust website (www.est.org.uk) and follow their excellent advice,  the Energy Savings Trust really does offer the UK's one-stop shop for energy savings advice.

And be a little sceptical about some of the advice that is being given at the moment. We have noted with great concern that the self-appointed UK consumer champion Martin Lewis (also known as the Money Savings Expert) has recently told people not to switch energy supplier.

This advice has left us scratching our head the last time Mr Lewis told the country not to switch early in 2008, suppliers like npower and ScottishPower were offering generous 3 year capped rates that are now long withdrawn. Customers who followed Mr Lewis advice then totally lost out on those offers! With ScottishPower now offering a good capped rate it does not make sense to wait.

Simon Moynihan

British Gas increased prices on its Market Tracker tariff this week and every major news outlet covered the story. Many headlines were apocalyptic and spoke of 40% price increases, soaring bills and millions of hard-up Brits facing ruin.

In fact, only 2,500 households will be affected with a 14% price increase. British Gas's Market Tracker follows wholesale prices and is adjusted every three months. If wholesale prices go up, so does the Market Tracker.

When British Gas last increased prices on the Market Tracker in December, there were 5,000 customers on the tariff. Half of those have switched away since and British Gas has withdrawn the tariff from most comparison services. This latest hike should see the few remaining customers looking for another supplier.

It may be difficult to see why an increase in the price of an obscure tariff with hardly any customers should have created such media attention, but before the run of price increases at the beginning of the year, British Gas and their Market Tracker acted like an early warning system for consumers.

In December, British Gas's parent company Centrica made a statement declaring that prices for domestic consumers were unsustainable in light of soaring wholesale prices. Then they increased prices on the Market Tracker and one month later the major energy suppliers began hiking prices for millions of customers culminating in an overall increase of 13% and bringing energy bills back over the £1,000 mark.

Six months later, the same situation has just presented itself. Centrica made a statement in May hinting very strongly that they may have to increase domestic gas and electricity prices to sustain their level of profitability. Last week they increased prices on the Market Tracker. If history is in fact repeating itself, we should see the first of the major energy suppliers announce price increases within weeks.

This leaves consumers with a dilemma. Should they wait out the wave of increases or look for the cheapest deal now? Switching could just mean that they will see a price increase with their new supplier as happened to thousands of customers who switched at the start of the year.

Alternatively, consumers could choose a fixed price tariff which guarantees not to increase prices for a certain period. These are almost always more expensive than standard rates, but they provide security in an increasingly volatile market.

Says Florian Ritzmann of price comparison service Unravelit.com: "We're seeing a much higher number of consumers looking for fixed price tariffs. Scottish Power recently withdrew their fixed deal as they filled it much more quickly than they expected to which shows the level of demand. Probably the best fixed deal on the market is npower's Price Fix 2011. It's currently over 10% more expensive than a standard deal, but it's guaranteed for two and a half years, the longest of any fixed deal."

A new competitor has entered the gas and electricity market - Spark Energy. Spark Energy is a UK-based startup company, and the first new entrant into the consumer market since Zest4, a startup that failed in early 2006.

We wish them luck,

Spark Energy's prices can be reviewed on this service.

By Florian Ritzmann

With the first quarter behind us, now is a good time to take stock of what has happened to British energy consumers since the start of 2008.

Energy prices have shot up by 14% in the last three months on the back of surging gas and electricity wholesale cost, the price at which energy suppliers buy energy in bulk. The result of the price increases has been felt by every household, with the average cost rising by about £150 per year in one go. In total, UK energy consumers are being asked to pay in excess of £2 billion more for their gas and electricity this year.

UK energy consumers who have not switched suppliers before, can now expect to be spending between £1,017 to £1,050 per year for their gas and electricity, when billed on their suppliers standard rates*.

Details of recent price increases by supplier are below:

British Gas: 15% Gas increase, 15% Electricity increase

EDF Energy: 12.9% Gas increase, 7.9% Electricity increase

E.ON: 15% Gas increase, 9% Electricity increase

Npower: 13% Gas increase, 17% Electricity increase

Southern Electric/Scottish Hydro/Swalec/Atlantic Electric and Gas: 16% Gas increase, 17% Electricity increase

ScottishPower/Manweb: 15% Gas increase, 14% Electricity increase

So what now?

Despite these increases, the potential for savings from switching suppliers is actually better now than it was at the beginning of the year. This is because suppliers are actively competing with each other, trying to win new customers with alternative discounted rates that are typically not available to their own existing customers!

Here is how the savings have developed in the last three months:

The average annual switching savings presented to our customers in early January was £163, with high energy usage customers able to save to save around £450.

Since then, the average saving has increased significantly, the overall average saving from switching gas and electricity providers for all our customers by the end of March had climbed by 25% to £202 per year, with the savings for maximum users as high as £503.**

So not all is lost and it is possible to claw back at least some of the recent increases by switching suppliers! Energy providers are actively competing for your business with attractive prices and switching supplier online using our comparison service is as easy as ever - but you do need to act, whether you have switched before or not.

Doing nothing at this point means that you will be paying more for your gas and electricity than you have to.

And you might not even have to actually switch supplier to get the best savings: British Gas and Npower are two suppliers who have made their cheapest tariffs available to their current customers, and you can upgrade your account almost instantly using our comparison service, no strings attached!

Remember: You won't lock yourself into a minimum contract with your new supplier (meaning, you can switch as often as you like), so the only thing you can lose out on is an average annual saving of £202

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*average gas and electricity consumption of 20,500kWh gas and 3,300kWh electricity

**Average savings January period represents the average of savings quoted to 2,600 users between 26/12/07 and 06/01/08. March period represents the average of savings quoted to 4,500 users between 19/03/08 and 27/03/08. Maximum savings for both periods represents the average saving of the top 10% of energy users in the sample groups.

MPs announced yesterday that they will be launching a full scale inquiry into the energy market.

The decision came after four of the big six energy companies increased prices last month affecting millions of households across the country. All of the companies increased prices by about 15%.

The Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform select committee which is made up of MPs from all parties will look at how energy companies compete and whether that competition is working well for the consumer. They will also be investigating the wholesale markets which were cited by the energy companies as a reason for their increased prices.

In January npower, EDF, British Gas and Scottish Power all increased prices pushing most households over the £1,000 a year mark for home energy. They have come under considerable criticism by the press and watchdogs alike for introducing double digit increases at the coldest time of year.

Ofgem, the industry regulator has said that it would "welcome talking to the select committee and sharing with it our analysis of the market".

Adam Scorer of Energywatch also welcomed the announcement and said that they have long voiced concerns that there are serious problems in the way the energy markets works, or rather doesn't work?.

Of the big six energy suppliers, only E.ON and Scottish and Southern Energy have yet to increase prices but industry insiders are expecting a price announcement from E.ON within a week. Scottish and Southern have said they will not change their prices until at least March.

This investigation can only benefit consumers said Florian Ritzmann of price comparison service Unravelit.com. More effective competition will mean a better energy deal for British householders. But consumers shouldn't wait for the outcome of an investigation before looking for a better deal. There are still huge savings out there, especially for those that have had their prices increased and haven't switched before?.

Is it worth switching? Energy companies are increasing prices, but some are still offering good deals, especially to customers paying by direct debit and managing their account online.

British Gas announced today that it will increase gas and electricity prices for domestic customers by 15 per cent. The move will add over £130 per year to the average energy bill.

British Gas, the UK's largest energy provider, is the third major supplier to increase prices in the last two weeks. Both EDF and npower started the year with double digit increases, affecting almost 10 million customers.

British Gas, which supplies over 13 million customers and is the UK's largest energy provider, said that it could make a loss in 2008 unless it took action on prices.

Blaming higher wholesale energy costs, managing director Phil Bentley said the firm couldn't be expected to absorb the "burden" of these increases. He also said that British Gas wanted lower gas prices but "lower availability of supplies from both the UK and the Continent, coupled with higher global oil prices, have forced up wholesale prices."

However, Energywatch chief Allan Asher said he was "sick and tired of hearing energy companies try to justify the latest bout of pain they are inflicting on their customers".

Dual fuel customers can expect their bills to go up by £143 to £1,055, and customers paying by direct debit can expect an increase of £131, bringing annual bills up to £968.

There is some good news though. Customers on the Click Energy 4 tariff, British Gas's cheapest offering, will not be affected. The internet only tariff, which is the cheapest available in most regions, is still available for sign up and British Gas standard customers can switch to Click Energy 4 and bypass the increases altogether.

npower announced today that it will increase prices on its tracker tariff effective January 1st. npower became the second major energy supplier to increase prices following a similar announcement from British Gas just ten days ago. With winter closing in, the prospect of increased energy bills will be most unwelcome news to British householders.

npower says it will increase gas prices by 17 per cent and electricity prices by 13 per cent for all customers on its tracker tariff. The tracker tariff released at the beginning of the year was designed to follow the wholesale energy market and is reviewed every three months. npower tracker customers can now expect to pay an average of £87 more for electricity and £44 more for gas next year.

British Gas having introduced similar price increases to their tracker tariff last week announced today that they would be carefully monitoring high wholesale prices with regard to their pricing policy. Analysts believe that today's statement from British Gas makes it clear that overall price rises are likely and if British Gas increases standard prices, other major UK suppliers will follow their lead

Price increases in tracker tariffs give a very strong indication of how much standard prices are likely to go up by, and analysts believe that the average household may have to come up an extra £130 next year.

While the overall outlook for energy customers is gloomy, the Scottish and Southern group which includes Atlantic, Southern Electric and SWALEC is still selling its Price Fix 2008 tariff. This tariff, which is the cheapest option available for customers in many regions, guarantees not to increase prices until November 2008.

Commenting on today's announcements, Florian Ritzmann, utilities director with price comparison service Unravelit.com said "with price increases imminent across the board, we would advise energy customers to lock in the best deal possible while they still can. Offers like Scottish and Southern's Price Fix 2008 are unlikely to be available for much longer".

Simon Moynihan

Energy prices will increase by up to 17% after Christmas - take advantage of discounted fixed price offers now

When it rains it pours,  just as the credit crunch is taking hold by making consumer credit dearer, energy prices are set to make thinks even worse in the new year.

In an easily overlooked announcement, British Gas this week announced it was raising the price of its Market Tracker gas and electricity tariff for the first time since the tariff was introduced last July. As the name suggests the Market Tracker tariff bases itself on the underlying price of gas and electricity - the wholesale price at which utility companies buy gas and electricity in bulk - which makes it a bellweather for consumer energy prices as a whole.

In the companies own words, taken from the press statement that accompanied the tariff's first launch:

"In the same way that tracker mortgages are linked to Bank of England rates, the British Gas Market Tracker will follow changes in the wholesale gas and electricity markets more closely than the traditional energy bill, where price adjustments are smoothed over a period of time to protect customers from volatile commodity movements."

In other words if wholesales energy prices change significantly, then the Market Tracker price is the first to reflect these changes. So consumers need to sit up and take notice: The Gas price has gone up by 13%, while the electricity price has increased by an even higher 17%. Given the logic of this tariff, this increase means that soon all suppliers will raise their own prices by a similar margin. Brace yourself for the end of more reasonably priced gas and electricity in the next two months is our prediction.

What can you do? If you act now using our impartial price comparison calculator (and we really mean now), you can still take advantage of a fantastic offer by Scottish and Southern Energy, the company behind the Southern Electric, ScottishHydro and Swalec brands. This supplier currently offers a tariff called Price Fix 2008?, which is among the cheapest offers available, but with one crucial difference: it includes a price guarantee that expires November 30, 2008 enough time to get through the coming storm unscathed. Just visit our comparison service, which compares over 7,000 tariffs, and see this offer for yourself.

And why do you have to act now? Because Scottish and Southern are unlikely to leave this tariff on the market for much longer. So get signed up now to protect yourself against price increase! It takes only ten minutes, and you only need your last gas and electricity bill in front of you to do it.

Powergen today changed its brand name to E.ON. The change will bring Powergen into line with its German multi-national parent brand name. The change is to the brand only, no prices are changed.

E.ON employ over 18,000 people in the UK and the company's retail business has around 8.1 million electricity and gas customer accounts.

Winter is just about here, and this year it won't be just the Christmas decorations to remind us. The rain was everywhere last week, and with it came a sharp drop in temperatures across the UK.

The Met Office is predicting that this could mark the beginning of a trend  this coming winter's overall temperatures are set to drop far below last year's record high of 5.6 degrees Celsius. The Met's most recent prediction is for temperatures to be below 4.3C on average, with just a 45% chance that temperatures will go above.

One of the advantages of colder times ahead is that we won't be seeing daffodils blooming in December again, but cold temperatures can spell danger particularly for elderly or vulnerable people. Colder temperatures are also usually a reason why utility companies put through sharp price increases on gas and electricity.

The following simple pointers should help you in tackling both issues.

If you are a pensioner, or look after an elderly relative, here are some easy ways to help reduce your energy bills, so you can afford to keep warm.

Get help with the bills:

Winter Fuel payments is a scheme operated by the Pension Service and the most important benefit available to help vulnerable citizens deal with the cold! The benefit is worth between £100 and £300 this winter, depending on the age of the beneficiary, and the number of claimants in the household claiming.

The outline rules of the scheme are that anyone who was above the age of 60 between the 17th and 23rd of September qualifies for the payment. If you received Winter Fuel Payment benefit last year, you are automatically qualified to get it again this year, without doing anything.

A full set of rules for the Scheme are available from the Pension Service website as is a downloadable application form.

There are also energy tariffs available, which are specifically geared towards servicing the elderly. Powergen (which will soon change its name to e-On) has a joint offer with the Age Concern charity group. Customers benefit from a free hypothermia alarm, a device that sends out a piercing noise if temperatures fall below a danger threshold and a help number that is specifically geared towards advising elderly and vulnerable customers.

There are over 7,000 gas and electricity deals available to UK energy consumers, and the Age Concern tariff might not always be the cheapest. Other interesting deals currently on offer from our comparison service is Scottish and Southerns Fixed Price 2008 tariff, which combines a very attractive price, with a promise not to raise rates rates until November 30th next year. That is 12 months of not worrying about price increases which are almost certain to come in the months ahead!

But to get these deals you do need to hurry and use this impartial comparison service as winter draws nearer this particular deal will be withdrawn at some point, and it is strictly first come first served.

Get a grant to insulate your home

It is a little publicised fact that local councils, energy suppliers and even the government all offer grant schemes that can help you, or the person you look after, improve the energy efficiency of a home. And we are not talking about a telephone helpline this is hard cash for things like double glazing, cavity wall insulation or loft insulation.

For example, if you or the person you look after receive benefits, chances are that your energy suppliers will do cavity wall insulation for absolutely free, while a government grant could get you other efficiency improvements worth up to £2,700. And even if you don't receive benefits, help is available and the best way to check it out is to visit the Energy Savings Trust website. Here you'll find a tool that lets you view details all the available grants and schemes, using your postcode and current energy supply details.

So here is what you need to do this winter to stay warm:

1. Get help with the bills, by switching supplier if a saving is available, and by getting Winter Fuel Payments sorted either for yourself or the person you look after.
2. Take advantage of the grants that are out there to help you reduce energy consumption and stay warm.

This doesn't just sound easy it is easy. So what are you waiting for?

Winter is around the corner, spelling darker days, colder weather  and higher gas and electricity bills. Alarms are being raised over the uncertainties raised by the coming winter, because recent history has shown all too clearly what can go wrong. To remind ourselves, here is what happened just two years ago when energy prices spiked to unprecedented highs:

An explosion and subsequent fire at a key gas storage facility in the North Sea rendered the facility inoperable for months, and restricted supplies to the UK

- Gas imports from Europe via a sole pipeline operated from the Netherlands had been highly unreliable, highlighting the need for more import capacity

- A mild winter should have meant lower energy consumption, but considerable extremes of cold put extreme pressures on the country's energy infrastructure, driving up prices

Falling gas and electricity prices earlier in 2007 have made a difference to our pockets. Most suppliers (with the exception of EDF Energy, the main supplier to Londoners) lowered their gas and electricity prices to their customers in the first half of this year. Depending on where you live, and how you pay for your energy, you should have seen your energy cost come down between 5% and 20% compared to their peak in January 2007.

Since the last price cut announcement by a leading supplier, which now dates back to April, many months have passed, and nothing further has happened. To the contrary, many suppliers, including British Gas have hinted at the possibility of price increases in the coming winter. Why did the energy suppliers not cut deeper after all, gas and electricity consumers still pay out an extraordinary £1,200 per year, even at the current rates, and what does the future hold?

Part of the reason is clearly profit-related. Energy suppliers seek the maximum return for their shareholders, as any public company would. Falling wholesale prices for energy during the last winter have given suppliers an unparalleled opportunity to line their pockets, yet still have allowed them to appear generous in the public eye by reducing prices to some degree.

The other reason for the hesitation to cut deeper on behalf of the British energy consumer is that most sources of electricity (which includes gas) are natural commodities traded like stocks on a stock exchange. Energy suppliers try to minimise their risk by buying this commodity on a forward basis, which means that the gas and electricity you consume today might have been bought by your supplier as far back as last year. This will insure the supplier against shortages.

Suppliers therefore always keep an eye on the future cost of energy prices (particularly winter prices, when consumption is higher), and if these are high then they are far less likely to offer short term price cuts to their customers today and this is what has happened over the summer that is just past. It is widely believed that the wholesale price of winter gas needs to increase by only 10% from its current levels for suppliers to raise the raise the cost to consumers, just as the country will go into the winter of 2008. As gas is used for about 40% of the country's electricity generation, this effect of higher prices for gas will spill over into higher electricity prices as well.

First of all, your bills will not decrease automatically anymore. For the foreseeable future, savings will be had from switching supplier more on that below and from reducing consumption only. We urge consumers to do both now and take advantage of what are still benign market conditions for households looking to reduce their bills.

The market for consumers looking to switch suppliers and make savings has not looked this good in years. New independent energy suppliers have entered the market again (for example Utilita), and their efforts have contributed to the huge amount of choice British energy consumers have. Suppliers are not keen to pass savings to their existing customer base, but they know that to attract a new customer from a rival supplier, they must compete on price, and offer at least 10% savings.

A number of large and small suppliers have therefore recently launched attractive new offers to get new customers npower, for example, launched a new Sign Online tariff that offers consumers the benefits of online account management at a very cost-competitive price. Scottish and Southern Group, the company behind the Southern Electric, Swalec and Scottish Hydro brands have brought out a totally new stripped down Internet tariff which improves greatly on their standard offering, while ScottishPower and British Gas currently have offers that easily translate into savings of £160 or more for an average household.

But the same rule still applies: you have to look around for these deals and be prepared to switch energy supplier. Suppliers will not reduce your cost of gas and electricity without action from you, and our price comparison service, which compares over 7,000 tariffs, including all the lead green tariffs is just perfect for this.

So our advice is to lock in some savings with an attractive offer that reflects the low current cost of gas and electricity. And then make a point to check that you remain on the best deal by signing up to our integrated savings reminder service which will alert you to your best deal on a monthly basis by e-mail. Staying on the best deal is easy with our service.

Remember that the average annual utility bill now stands at £1200 per household, and that the signs are there for bills to yet again go up further! That amount is more likely than not more than what you spend on other household bills, including such big ticket items as car insurance or mobile phone charges and so your energy does deserve your attention.

The energy markets regulator Ofgem today announced it was scrapping the long-standing 28 day rule, by which customers are free to leave their energy suppliers and switch to another supplier without delay or penalty. The rule had been in place originally to prevent large suppliers from locking in their customer base on long-term contracts and thus preventing effective competition.

Ofgem's reasoning in scrapping the rule is to create incentives for suppliers to invest in longer term energy saving measures, such as replacing old meters with 'smart' meters that can inform energy consumers about their energy consumption in real time.

Ofgem's move somewhat obscures the fact that suppliers have long been able to incentivise their customers to remain with them, by, for example applying discounts on energy consumption retro-actively after a year of uninterrupted supply. Some suppliers, notably British Gas, have in the past applied penalties on customers wishing to switch away from certain tariffs before the expiry of a specified term.

Moves by suppliers to impose blanket sanctions for customers wishing to switch away will with certainty be met by widespread consumer dissatisfaction, and it is noteworthy to point out that past efforts by suppliers to impose penalties on switchers have so far consistently failed.

On the other hand, the scrapping of the 28 day rule offers a great opportunity for suppliers to develop innovative new tariff plans that incentivise customers to enter into fixed term contracts, in exchange for fixed prices, thus emulating the commercial market, which is based on renewable fixed price contracts.

Fifteen thousand people across the nation are soon to get smart meters as part of an energy savings trial. Smart meters will tell consumers exactly how much electricity their power hungry gadgets are using and how much they cost to run.

The £20 million trial funded by the government and the energy industry is aimed at encouraging households to curb their use of gas and electricity and reduce Britain's emissions of greenhouse gases.

With smart meters, householders can see on a screen how much energy each appliance is using at any time. The government sees smart meters as a key tool for cutting energy waste. "Changing consumer habits is vital if we are to cut our energy use and reduce the impact of climate change," said Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton. Smart meters provide the cutting edge technology to enable this to happen."

It is intended that the trial, which is set to run for two years, will provide invaluable evidence to prove that smart meters help consumers reduce their energy consumption. If successful, it could speed the future rollout of smart meters across the nation.

With their new Go Green tariff, Powergen promises to match all electricity usage with renewable resources and offset the carbon from all gas used, making this a completely carbon neutral tariff.

But what's really interesting is the way Powergen has chosen to market their new product and build awareness of green issues. Enlisting the help of renowned marketers Publicis Dialog, Powergen has created Eco Spy, an online viral campaign that aims to name and shame energy hogs people that don't act responsibly towards the environment when it comes to energy consumption. By answering a few questions, friends and colleagues can create and send personalised online videos detailing energy waste. Each film should be unique based on the information provided.

The campaign is promoted on news and social networking sites and has generated plenty of interest since its recent launch. Eco Spy can be seen at www.ecospy.tv and of course, you can compare and switch to green tariffs including Go Green right here on Unravelit.

Unravelit is a carbon neutral company.

Today between 9 and 10 p.m. the lights will be turned off to raise awareness of global warming. Many of London's most famous landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, Canary Wharf, the BT Tower, Harrods, the Savoy, the Ritz, the National Theatre and some government ministries will have the lights turned off.

Lighting contributes approximately 10% of the average household's electricity consumption, with an increasing amount of electricity being consumed by ever more power hungry appliances, in particular Personal Computers and Flatscreen TVs.

Air Conditioners do's and don'ts: When you have young children, or are looking after the elderly, an air conditioner will be your weapon of last resort to beat the heat this summer. Here is what you need to do to make sure you get value for money.

The first rule of buying an air conditioning unit is to not wait until it gets hot! Air Conditioners sell out fast when you need them most, and chances are that by the time you get your hand on a unit, temperatures will have come down.

The second rule is that even a good air conditioner will use quite a bit of electricity, so make sure that you are getting the best deal on your energy at home before you buy! You could save up to £170 from switching your supplier, even if you have switched before - and these savings could pay towards buying and running air conditioning unit to keep you cool in the summer.

To figure out which air conditioning unit is most efficient for your property you need to give yourself time. You don't want to get stuck with an overpriced and inadequate no-brand air conditioner from your local hardware store, simply because everything else was sold out on the hottest day of the year...

Here are some simple pointers to getting value for money:

Type: Mobile air conditioners come in two types - 'integrated' or 'split' units.

• Integrated units work by housing the compressor unit (the bit that pumps the heat out of the air) inside the main control unit. This makes the unit more compact, and easier to move from room to room. On the downside, integrated units can be irritatingly noisy and tend to have less power, but they do cost less, with a decent unit priced around the £300 mark.
• Split air conditioners house the noisy bits in an external box, which you will have to find space for outside your window (they usually fit in the window box, and come with fittings). The outside unit is attached to the inside control unit by a thin pipe. This has the advantage of keeping the noise down. However, if you want to move your air conditioner from room to room, you need to consider that half of it sits outside. Split mobile units are also a bit more expensive, typically starting at £400.

Size: Buy an air conditioner with a cooling capacity that matches your property. Measure the room you wish to cool, and make sure that it corresponds with the stated capacity of the unit. An underpowered unit will have to run constantly without providing enough cooling, while an overly powerful machine will fail to remove enough moisture from the air and make the air feel clammy.

Noise: Air conditioners can be noisy. If you cannot demo a unit, ask for its noise performance in decibel - this is particularly important if you are buying an integrated unit. 36 to 40 decibel is considered a good performance. Noise is an important consideration if you wish to place the device in a bedroom.

Maintenance: All filters, air intakes, grilles and radiators need to be kept unblocked and clean at all times to maintain peak performance. Check that your unit allows easy access to all maintainable parts.

Usage: Most new units have a timer facility - before you leave your home, you can set the timer to start the machine 30 minutes before your return. You will enter into a nicely cooled home without wasting energy by letting the device run in your absence. Don't make your home too cold - set the temperature to around 24 Celsius for a comfortable environment.

Use a fan: Circulate the cold air with an extra standard fan to ensure efficient temperature distribution.

Make sure that you buy the most efficient unit - in the longer term an inefficient cheaper unit could cost you more than the slightly more expensive air conditioner that uses less energy or makes less noise.

Energy Performance Certificates will be required by all home sellers in England and Wales from June 1st and experts predict that most homes will score poor marks. Whether poor EPC grades will translate into lower sale prices is yet to be seen, but the National Association of Estate Agents has reported a huge increase in properties coming onto the market recently.

Anyone putting their property on the market before June 1st will not have to provide a Home Information Pack of which EPCs are a key requirement. Because EPCs provide detailed information on the efficiency and running costs of a home, it is expected that they will become instrumental in negotiations over price.

The new Energy Performance Certificates will provide ratings similar to those seen on white goods like fridges and washing machines and will grade homes from A to G for energy efficiency and carbon emissions. EPCs will also include estimated annual costs for heating, lighting and hot water and will include recommendations on how to improve a home's efficiency. The reports, prepared by qualified home inspectors, will also advise on which measures ranging from insulation to double glazing will improve a home's energy rating.

Only 6% of the UK housing stock was built after 1995 when tougher building regulations were introduced. This means that most sellers will have to take action to improve the efficiency ratings of their homes. After June 1st, energy aware buyers will have more information available and could easily base a decision between two similar homes on a good energy rating.

Further adding to speculation that EPCs may affect house prices is the strong drive amongst Britons to reduce their carbon emissions. Consumers are choosing energy efficient cars and appliances and there is speculation that many Britons may consider the carbon footprint of a house when making a decision to buy. Add high energy prices to the mix and EPCs alone may put pressure on house prices.

With Home Information Packs expected to cost up to £1,000 per home and a shortage of qualified home inspectors, industry groups are predicting a slowdown in the market if the controversial legislation is not postponed. A House of Lords committee is expected to release a damning report this week and may even block the legislation.

Home Information Packs and EPCs in particular are strongly opposed by estate agents, mortgage lenders, surveyors and even the Law Society. These industry groups believe that HIPs combined with interest rate increases could catapult an already jittery market into freefall.

Iberdrola, the second largest energy supplier in Spain completed its takeover of ScottishPower yesterday creating the third largest utility group in Europe. This news follows a number of high profile takeovers and mergers between UK and European energy suppliers in recent years.

ScottishPower has assured its customers that it will continue to provide the same level of service and there are no plans to change prices. The existing ScottishPower brand will also be maintained in all UK operations.

The news of the takeover comes at a time when Ofgem has critisised ScottishPower for failing to cut prices to domestic customers despite a huge fall in wholesale gas prices. EDF were also named in the same report.

Iberdrola is the world's largest producer of wind power and has operations worldwide.

The energy markets regulator Ofgem today announced that 4 million customers have switched suppliers in 2006, with 100,000 more switching in January and February this year than in the same period in 2006.

In the same press release, Ofgem also stated that 'a big price gap has opened up leaving EDF Energy and ScottishPower customers paying over £100 for remaining loyal'.

EDF Energy and ScottishPower have not yet announced any plans for reducing prices for their existing customers.

Ofgem encourages all consumers to 'shop around to get the best deal' and that 'even if a supplier has announced price cuts customers may still be able to get a better deal by switching to a competing supplier'.

This week, British Gas launched a new business unit aimed at marketing a range of green products and services to homes and businesses across the UK. The new unit named British Gas New Energy will provide environmentally-friendly products including energy efficient boilers, electricity generating solar panels and solar tubes for heating water.

As home sellers will be required to produce energy performance certificates from June onwards, British Gas New Energy will also provide advice on how to reduce the carbon footprint of households and has trained 500 of its engineers to put together the new certificates.

The New Energy venture continues with the company's commitment to greener practices: British Gas claims it has lower CO2 emissions per customer than any other big UK energy supplier and also contributes up to £100 million per year to the Energy Efficiency Commitment  a government directive aimed at delivering efficiency benefits to disadvantaged customers and thus helping to further reduce CO2 emissions.

We applaud British Gas on this new venture. Providing consumers with the tools they need to become more efficient and to power their homes with renewable energy shows the British Gas is committed to tackling climate change said Simon Moynihan, Consumer Insight Manager with Unravelit, we hope that other suppliers follow suit?.

Calculate your Carbon Footprint

Compare and switch energy suppliers, or switch to a green tariff

British Gas, npower, Powergen and Scottish and Southern Group, who between them service about 70% of British homes with gas and electricity, have recently announced double-digit price decreases for their customers.

Yet when looking at the average prices for the suppliers that have published their new tariffs, UK households are only slightly better off than they were at the same time one year ago. In percentage terms, the average price cut announcement amounts to just 8% less compared to the prices that were valid as recently as last summer.

Energy prices began to climb in the middle of 2001, when an average household paid only £567 for their gas and electricity (paying by monthly Direct Debit, and using 20,500kWh of gas and 3,300kWh of electricity, supplied by British Gas for gas and the local incumbent electricity company). Households supplied by the four suppliers above today will thus still be paying an average of £300, or 53%, more.

The wholesale price of gas and electricity has stayed consistently low in recent months, and consumers are therefore right to demand and expect further cuts from their suppliers. The suggestion that suppliers are able to hang on to inflated profit margins at the expense of the UK consumer means that the market is not as competitive as it should be.

We are pleased to announce that Utilita, a startup gas and electricity supplier based in Winchester, has today relaunched itself exclusively on this service. Utilita is an independent UK supply company that is fully licensed and accredited by the regulator Ofgem to supply gas and electricity to UK homes.

Utilita offers highly competetive prices, plus planetpoints,a voucher scheme that offers customers the opportunity to get energy efficiency products and services from Utilita.

We are very pleased to see that the drop in wholesale prices has encouraged startup suppliers to re-enter the market, because more choice to the consumer means more competition. The only place to get Utilita's deals is on this service.

British Gas announced today that it will cut its standard tariffs for gas by 17 per cent and for electricity by 11 per cent beginning 12 March 2007. British Gas is the first of the leading suppliers to announce such a cut.

Current British Gas standard tariff customers are advised to take advantage of additional massive savings by switching to the Click Energy 2 tariff - British Gas' leading discounted gas and electricity offer, available through this service.

This service is up to date and reflects the new British Gas prices.

Scottish and Southern, the company behind the Atlantic Electric and Gas, Southern Electric, Scottish-Hydro and Swalec supplier brands, have re-affirmed their intention to cut gas and electricity prices in the coming months.

No firm date or target were given, as Alistair Phillips-Davies, energy supply director of SSE stated: "Since last September, we have made clear our intention to cut gas and electricity prices if there was a sustained fall in wholesale prices which would allow us to do so, and I am very pleased that we have now been able to confirm this."

Scottish and Southern's statement echoes the commitment of its rival British Gas to cut prices for its existing customer base in the months to come. Leading suppliers have yet to implement price cuts for their existing customers, which is not likely to happen before the spring, when energy usage from heating starts to decrease.

Customers looking for a better deal from switching supplies can already benefit from falling prices, as three suppliers (EDF Energy, ScottishPower and npower) have so far dropped the price of gas and electricity available to new customers.

Ebico and Unravelit.com announced today that they have partnered to offer Ebico's gas and electricity tariffs on the Unravelit network of energy comparison websites. Unravelit.com is the only energy comparison company to offer EQUIGAS and EQUIPOWER tariffs to UK consumers.

Ebico is the UK's only not-for-profit energy supplier and offers substantial savings to both pre-payment meter and cash customers through its EQUIGAS and EQUIPOWER tariffs. As the only provider offering the same rate to consumers on all payment methods, Ebico's cash and pre-payment tariffs are extremely competitive. With one in ten UK consumers pre-paying for their energy, the increased availability of Ebico will offer a new and fair alternative to this segment of the market.

Rapidly increasing gas and electricity prices have forced more than a million new households into fuel poverty over the last 3 years according Energywatch, the gas and electricity watchdog. Despite offering the fairest and most competitive pricing to many low income households, Ebico has until now been virtually hidden from the public due to its absence on energy comparison websites. Now however, that has all changed.

"We are very pleased to offer Ebico's EQUIGAS AND EQUIPOWER tariffs to our users said Simon Moynihan, Consumer Insight Manager with Unravelit. Ever increasing energy prices have made it more and more difficult for low income families to pay for energy. Most consumers can save up to £200 by switching energy suppliers and we wanted to offer lower income families such savings too. We see Ebico's EQUIGAS AND EQUIPOWER as key tariffs for this customer group.

Simon Moynihan concluded by saying I'm very glad to say we have been able to structure an arrangement that works for both companies and means that we can now offer our customers access to EQUIGAS and EQUIPOWER directly through our websites.

Phil Levermore, EBICO's Managing Director, welcomed the development. We're delighted to be working with such a key player in the price comparison sector to make it easier for households to access the savings that our tariffs can bring.

Skyrocketing gas and electricity prices compelled a record breaking four million people to change energy suppliers in 2006. That figure was whopping 750,000 more than in 2005 according to the gas and electricity regulator Ofgem.

"Energy customers have given expensive suppliers the boot with over four million moving to a cheaper supplier in the first ten months of 2006," said Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan. Customers who have never switched can cut their bills by around £150 by getting a better deal for their energy?. Customers can also cut their bills by an additional £35-40 by paying for their energy by direct debit.

Ebico and Unravelit.com announced today that they have partnered to offer Ebico's gas and electricity tariffs on the Unravelit network of energy comparison websites. Unravelit.com is the only energy comparison company to offer EQUIGAS and EQUIPOWER tariffs to UK consumers.

Ebico is the UK's only not-for-profit energy supplier and offers substantial savings to both pre-payment meter and cash customers through its EQUIGAS and EQUIPOWER tariffs. As the only provider offering the same rate to consumers on all payment methods, Ebico's cash and pre-payment tariffs are extremely competitive. With one in ten UK consumers pre-paying for their energy, the increased availability of Ebico will offer a new and fair alternative to this segment of the market. Rapidly increasing gas and electricity prices have forced more than a million new households into fuel poverty over the last 3 years according Energywatch, the gas and electricity watchdog.

Despite offering the fairest and most competitive pricing to many low income households, Ebico has until now been virtually hidden from the public due to its absence on energy comparison websites.

Now however, that has all changed. "We are very pleased to offer Ebico's EQUIGAS AND EQUIPOWER tariffs to our users" said Simon Moynihan, Consumer Insight Manager with Unravelit. "Ever increasing energy prices have made it more and more difficult for low income families to pay for energy. Most consumers can save up to £200 by switching energy suppliers and we wanted to offer lower income families such savings too. We see Ebico's EQUIGAS AND EQUIPOWER as key tariffs for this customer group." Simon Moynihan concluded by saying "I'm very glad to say we have been able to structure an arrangement that works for both companies and means that we can now offer our customers access to EQUIGAS and EQUIPOWER directly through our websites."

Phil Levermore, EBICo's Managing Director, welcomed the development. "We're delighted to be working with such a key player in the price comparison sector to make it easier for households to access the savings that our tariffs can bring."

We are very pleased to announce that Unravelit has been awarded the prestigious Energywatch Confidence Code kite-mark. Following a rigorous audit, Unravelit was found to have passed all nine requirements of the new code and will now display the Energywatch Confidence Code kite-mark on the Unravelit website, assuring consumers that the service is impartial and savings calculations are accurate and up-to-date.

Unravelit has a long history of working with Energywatch and the Energy Regulator Ofgem. In 2001, Unravelit was one of the first energy comparison services to receive accreditation and has worked closely with both services since then. In 2006 Energywatch strengthened the Confidence Code to further protect consumers and Unravelit looks forward to fully supporting the new code in the years to come.

Florian Ritzmann, Product Director at Unravelit, commented "We believe that strengthening the Confidence Code was necessary to protect consumers against misleading practices and to assure users of accredited energy comparison sites that they are receiving the best and most accurate advice. At Unravelit, we are committed to providing the best service to our users and fully support Energywatch in its efforts to protect consumers."

Unravelit.com has submitted a complaint to the consumer watchdog energywatch concerning the practices of leading comparison brokers in calculating gas and electricity savings amounts.

At issue is the treatment of one-off introductory discounts, specifically the £15 per fuel introductory discount offered by British Gas to new customers, and a 12 month introductory bonus discount of 5%, offered by Powergen on one of its tariffs.

The energywatch Code of Confidence, a nascent trust kitemark to which all of the leading energy comparison brokers are currrently applying, states that "[comparison services calculations] should not include: Introductory sign up offers that may be for a limited time/one-time discounts/special offers"

Unravelit.com believes that comparison services who include these discounts are undermining the essence of the Code of Confidence, and calls on Energywatch to protect the consumers' interest.

Links:

Mirror - Money - Your Money - FAULTY SWITCH

Energywatch Code of Confidence

List of applicants to the Energywatch Code of Confidence

Powergen has today launched a new EnergyOnline Winter Warm gas and electricity tariff. The tariff features all the current benefits of the existing EnergyOnline tariff, but features an attractive 16% annual discount during the first year of service (the discount reverts to the standard 11% for gas and electricity users after the first year).

Customers can sign up to this tariff using our service, and should also note that the additional savings, which come to approximately £50 per fuel for an average gas and electricity user in the first year, are not included in the savings displayed on this service and are in addition to the savings shown.

Following on from its promise not to raise prices further in 2006, Scottish and Southern Energy, announced a price increase would become effective on 01 January 2007. The average price increase - which is blamed on the cost of wholesale energy - is 12.2% for gas customers and 9.4% for electricity customers.

Scottish and Southern is behind the Atlantic Electric and Gas, Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro and SWALEC brands. All prices on this service have been updated and the service is quoting post January 2007 prices.

Consumer watchdog energywatch has called into an official inquiry into high prices of as and electricity to settle "whether punishing energy prices in Britain are unavoidable or whether they can be explained".

Allan Asher, Chief Executive of energywatch, adds: "Despite reports that the wholesale price of gas is starting to fall, cheaper domestic energy bills will not follow this year and the market generally shows few signs of genuine competition. Upstream gas producers boast of staggering cash flows, vertically integrated energy companies reap the benefit from inflated electricity prices and new entrants cannot break into the market to compete with the big six [energy suppliers]." "Consumers have had enough of the relentless hammering"

So far, there has been no official response from Ofgem of the government in response to the call.

Scottish and Southern Group spokesman Alan Young confirmed that prices for its 7 million gas and electricity customers would remain on hold until next year. Scottish and Southern, which supplies gas and electricity under the Atlantic Electric and Gas, Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro and SWALEC brands, does, however expect to implement a further price increase early in the next year.

Scottish and Southern's statement of pending price increases is likely to cause concern during a period of stagnant wholesale gas and electricity prices - the biggest cause of gas and electricity price increases in recent years.

Who needs the FT when you can have unravelit for free? Yesterday we speculated in our monthly newsletter that gas and electricity prices may be due to fall in 2007. Today, the FT offers its readers the same story, citing predictions of a warmer winter ahead, combined with the seemingly successful completion of two new gas pipelines across the North Sea. Coincidence? Our lawyers are looking into it.

But jokes aside - the next six months will be a critical period. Suppliers will find it increasingly difficult to justify further price increases, so energy costs may have peaked at their current levels. Perhaps we might even see startup suppliers breathing competitive spirit into the market, as soon as the next year. So just keep checking back on unravelit and remember where you read it first.

Irish company www.steorn.com claim to have developed a source of free, clean and constant energy based on a specific constellation of fixed and moving magnets. The company states that its technology is more than 100% efficient - meaning that it generates more energy than it consumes, and has challenged leading scientists to come together and put the technology to the test. The company has even gone as far as taking out a page long advertisement in The Economist magazine to prove its sincerity.

So gas and electricity suppliers watch out! The days of ripping off British consumers with sky-high gas and electricity prices are surely about to come to an end. Or maybe not. In any case - we don't recommend consumers stop looking for a better deal on gas and electricity just yet. In the meantime, we'll be working on bringing you comparisons on best-price magnets. Watch this space.

The chairman of the UK energy regulator Ofgem Sir John Mogg, has speculated in an interview with the Financial Times that gas prices may fall in the coming year.

The chairman's more relaxed view on the UK's gas supply situation stems from his belief that major gas infrastructure projects, notably the completion of two new gas pipelines into the UK from the Netherlands and Norway, are on track. The extra gas that will be shipped into the UK would help create a more transparent gas market, and ultimately result in cheaper gas for UK consumers.

In the same interview, the chairman underscored his determination to 'take action' if wholesale price falls do not translate into cheaper gas prices for consumers.

EBICo - the not-for-profit energy supplier announced today that it will increase prices for both gas and electricity tariffs. Electricity tariffs will increase by an average of 21% and gas tariffs will increase by 31%. The price increase will be effective from 01 September 2006.

Powergen StayWarm customers are now able to compare the competitiveness of their tariff using this service. StayWarm is available to citizens 60 years of age or older. Customers pay a fixed price for their gas and electricity, and the price is reviewed once a year, based on the previous years' total kiloWatt hours consumption and any fluctuations in the number of household members.

Because StayWarm customers are not charged a unit rate for their gas and electricity consumption, other gas and electrcicity price comparison services have failed to offer customers a fair comparison against other deals. Customers using this service now merely need to select Powergen StayWarm as their current supplier and then follow the instructions provided.

This gas and electricity service is the only one of its kind to offer such an easy comparison against this unmetered tariff.

Powergen announces an 18.4% increase on its gas tariff and 9.7% increase on its electricity price. The increase affects all customers, except those that have previously signed up to a Capped price product from Powergen. The company blames unprecedented increases in the wholesale price of gas and electricity are behind the move.

New Powergen tariffs will be available for review on this service by Monday, August 21st, at Powergen's request.

The Bank of England's recent quarter point increase in base lending rates to 4.75% highlights the extent to which the increasing cost of gas and electricity is putting pressure on the UK economy.

Annualised inflation figures for June 2006 came in at 2.5%, easily breaching the Bank of England's 2% target. Along with a resurgent housing market and growth in consumer spending, the high cost of energy was put on the spot as one of the biggest contributing factors.

Unravelit.com now allows consumers to review the date on which a tariff is launched, as some tariffs that appear cheap today may be due for a price change in the short term. The date on which tariffs were last changed may provide some guidance as to whether a change is due, and will hopefully help consumers make better informed decisions about switching energy suppliers.

To check when a tariff was introduced, users of Unravelit simply need to run a search as before, and then review the 'Tariff Launch Date' that is shown next to the savings figure.

Customers wondering how the latest British Gas price increases for gas and electricity will be affecting them when they come into effect on September 4th should note that these prices are now loaded for comparison purposes. Please refer to our earlier news release for details on the price increase.

British Gas has announced that it will raise gas bills by 12.4% for its 10.7 million customers. The firm's electricity customers will also face a 9.4% increase in their bills from September. British Gas said "unprecedented high wholesale energy costs" had made the price increases necessary.

All standard prices and Price Protection prices have been removed from this service in response to the announcement. 'Click Energy' prices will remain valid for the time being.

EDF Energy have today announced a price increase of 19% on gas and 8% on electricity. The company cites the continuing rise in wholesale energy costs as the reason behind the rise. As part of the announcement, EDF Energy also introduce a new 'Capped' price tariff, which will fix customers' prices until July 2010. Customers who signed up for an earlier version of EDF Energy's Capped price tariff will not be affected by this announcement.

EDF Energy has now also suspended its 'Energy Online' product, which is not available for sign-up until further notice.

The UK government today published the results of its energy review, mapping out the thrust of energy policies to come. The most notable point in the review is a commitment to invest in nuclear power. "New nuclear power stations would make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals," - which are to secure Britain's energy supply while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Critics of the report state that the report places too much emphasis on a centralised power system, which is considered inefficient due to the high energy losses which occur during the generation process itself and the overland transmission of electricity.

Almost one million UK consumers switched energy suppliers in March this year - the highest number ever for a single month. In response to huge price increases from the nation's top six energy suppliers, UK customers have decided it's time to look for a better deal.

In a report published today, energy regulator Ofgem showed a large increase in the number of people switching energy suppliers. Alistair Buchanan, Chief executive of Ofgem urged UK consumers to take advantage of the strong competitive energy market to shop around and get the best possible deals on gas and electricity?. He went on to say that across Britain there are unclaimed savings of around £1 billion.

200,000 more consumers switched energy suppliers in March 2006 over the same period last year according to Ofgem's Retail Market Report. High Winter fuel bills may have prompted many people who have never switched before into action. They were right to do so as there are still wide differences in the prices charged by different suppliers” says Alistair Buchannan.

Ofgem's report shows that competition is still vigorous between energy suppliers despite rising prices. There are many different tariffs which means that there should be savings available for almost everyone. Opting for a dual-fuel tariff and paying by direct debit will usually net the greatest savings.

Energy prices across the UK have increased by over 40% in the last two years and consumers are taking notice. David Kerr, managing director of Unravelit said Ofgem's report is consistent with what we have seen this year. When a number of major suppliers increased their prices we saw a large increase in the number of people switching gas and electricity. Despite rising prices, it is still possible to get a good deal on your energy switching suppliers often saves over £170 per year.

Powergen today introduces an electricity only version of its popular dual fuel EnergyOnline tariff. Customers without a gas supply can now benefit from Powergen's discounted electricity rate. The product is called ElectricityOnline and is available for signup on this service now.

In another announcement, Powergen also replaced the current version of its Capped 2010 tariff, with an updated and slightly more expensive version. Customers who previously signed up to Capped 2010 are of course not affected by this tariff change.

The UK energy regulator has announced an industry-wide intiative to speed up the development and deployment of 'smart meters'. Smart meters can be read remotely, and offer customers better information about their energy usage, which can help reduce energy consumption. The aim of the initiative is to create an industry group which will define technical standards and identify regulatory barriers that are currently holding back the implementation of smart meters.

Jun 29 2006

Ellesmere Port Pioneer - IC Cheshire

A 10% hike in energy prices by ScottishPower has been branded as 'the latest blow in a brutal assault on consumers' by a watchdog body.

The company, which supplies electricity and gas to this area, blamed the rise, payable from July 10, on an 80% increase in wholesale energy costs over the last 12 months.

But Karl Brookes, a spokesperson for energywatch, the gas and electricity consumer watchdog, said: 'This is the latest blow in a brutal assault on Britain's energy consumers. More and more people will find it harder to pay their bills and the numbers in fuel poverty will rise yet again.

'With water bills also soaring it is difficult to imagine how consumers can comprehend the need for such massive rises in bills from utility companies.'

He added: 'energywatch understands that ScottishPower is taking steps to make sure its poorest customers aren't hit harder than everyone else by this rise.

'I hope this is the case as it's the least the company can do. Safeguarding the interests of poorer customers should be at the forefront of every utility company's pricing structure.' ScottishPower says electri-city prices will rise by an average of 10%, while gas prices will increase by an average of 17%. But it points out that even after the increases, Scottish-Power's standard Gas & Electricity Offer will remain cheaper than British Gas for the fourth year running. Willie MacDiarmid, Scot-tishPower's director of energy retail, said: 'As we indicated last month, wholesale energy costs continue to rise and are now a record 80% higher than this time last year.

'We have absorbed most of the impact and our last price increase announced in February was one of the smallest in the sector. However, we now need to pass on some of these increased wholesale energy costs.'

ScottishPower has launched a new Capped Price Offer to shield customers from further increases until October 2008.

Around one million of Scot-tishPower's 5.2 million customers will avoid the increase as they are already on a Capped Price Offer and the company says switching now to the new offer will protect customers from any further rises for more than two years.

Similarly, people paying by cheque can offset most of the increase by switching to direct debit, saving on average £79 a year, it adds.

ScottishPower today announced a price increase on all its tariffs. The company is raising the price of electricity by 10% and the price of gas by 17% respectively. The increase is effective as of 10/07/2006.

British Gas on 09/09 announced a price increase of 14.2% for its standard gas and electricity tariffs, effective from 19th September 2005. The new prices have been loaded and current British Gas customers can already compare alternative prices on unravelit.

Inflation in May was measured at 2.2% by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), against a government target of 2%. Increases in gas and electricity prices are largely to blame, with energy prices currently growing at a rate that is ten times faster than inflation overall. The government has already announced its intention to resist expected demands for above-average public sector wage increases.

A study comissioned by British Gas has found that Reading households produce 6,189 Kg of carbon dioxide each, the equivalent environmental impact of flying 13,000 miles (two return flights between London and New York). Hull, at the other end of the spectrum produces 40% less greenhouse gases per household.

The highest CO2 emitting UK cities are: Reading, Leicester, Bradford, Sunderland and Birmingham.

EU antitrust regulators have carried out "unannounced inspections" on energy companies in six EU countries on suspicion of abusing their market power. The raids targeted gas groups in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy and electricity firms in Hungary. The inspections mark the first step in probes into suspected anti-competitive practices. The UK energy regulator Ofgem commented that the European Commission "is now demonstrably serious about tackling anti-competitive practices in the European energy markets".

Customers of small specialist green energy suppliers are being put at a price disadvantage. Analysis carried out by unravelit shows that the price of electricity as supplied by smaller 'green-only' electricity suppliers has doubled since April 2000, while the price of green electricity sold by large-scale traditional suppliers has gone up by approximately 50%.

Are you wondering by just how much energy prices have gone up in the last few years? We have compared average gas and electricity tariff data going back to January 2002, and found that consumers' average bills have risen by over 60% since then. This means that if you were paying £600 back then, your bill is now likely to stand at £1,000.

British Gas has announced that standard gas and electricity prices will increase by 22% as of March 01. Customers who signed up to British Gas's Discounted Electricity" tariff after 20/01/2006 will be maintained on the price they signed up for until June 1st 2006.

Not sure about switching the first time you get a savings quote from Unravelit.com? You can now save your energy quote details with Unravelit.com. Just run a search, store your details and return to retrieve your savings at any point. For added convenience, you can also store your quote details on Unravelit.com, and let the service check your savings automatically on a monthly basis. You'll be informed of the best deal by e-mail.

A unique advanced search tool for energy customers has been launched. The enhancement allows customers with non-standard energy tariffs to perform always accurate savings comparison searches, and will particularly benefit those who have previously switched to Capped energy price deals.

The energy markets regulator Ofgem has agreed to allow the 4 leading UK gas pipeline operators to invest about £3.6 billion over the next 5 years. The investment plan is tied in with demands for efficiency gains, but allows the operators to recoup approximately £2 per annum from all UK gas consumers via price increases to their bills.

The companies are Northern Gas Networks, Scotia Gas Networks and Wales and West Utilities.