Study finds
The ink is barely dry on the latest round of price rise from the Big Six energy suppliers, but new research from MoneySuperMarket today shows the likes of British Gas and E.on are finding it increasingly hard to compete with emerging suppliers, with no Big Six presence currently in the top 100 energy dealsย on the market.
Emerging suppliers have been chipping away at the dominance of the Big Six for the last few years but, with so many competitive deals on offer, remarkably the bigger suppliers are not even close to offering the savings than customers can get from the ever-increasing number of small and medium sized suppliers.
The current cheapest Big Six tariff, from EDF, is a newly launched 14-month fixed deal, with an average annual bill value of ยฃ1,031. This is over ยฃ220 more expensive than the cheapest deals in the market from the likes of Economy Energy, at ยฃ811.
Of the cheaper deals in the market, almost 25 are under ยฃ900 and over 75 are under ยฃ1,000. These deals are dominated by new and emerging suppliers such as Bulb, Avro Energy, Economy Energy, Solarplicity, Octopus, Engie and iSupply Energy.
Conversely, the Big Six are languishing low down in the deals table. E.onโs cheapest deal is ยฃ1,053, followed by British Gas (ยฃ1,055), SSE (ยฃ1,066), npower (ยฃ1,071) and Scottish Power (ยฃ1,075). The average Big Six standard variable tariff currently sits at ยฃ1,145.
Stephen Murray, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: โThis really is a watershed moment and itโs been a long time coming. The retail energy market continues to go from strength to strength, as evidenced by increased switching numbers month-on-month. There are over 60 suppliers offering competitive tariffs and great customer service and they are taking market share away from the Big Six.ย
โThe Big Six are simply responding by raising their prices again and again. We know that customers are loyal to well-known brands, regardless of the costs – but in the energy market, loyalty really doesnโt pay and the people who switch are the ones reaping the financial benefits.
โUltimately, whether youโre with a Big Six or emerging supplier, if youโve stayed on the same tariff for more than a year or two, the chances are youโre paying way too much for your energy. Weโd encourage you to get online, explore all the great deals available on the market, and switch today. Youโll save ยฃ250 just like that, and quite possibly more.โ
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