Consumer champion Conor Pope says householders can slash their energy bills with one switch.
Pope says more than half a million households are eligible for discounts of 20 to 40% - if they just change provider.
The TV consumer affairs journalist said: “If you haven’t switched providers in recent years, you will be offered an introductory discount as a new customer.
“So if you go from, say, Electric Ireland to Energia, you’ll get a price cut of up to 40% just for joining.”
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He said the discounted rate only applies for one year, after which it goes back to the previous rate.
Connor added: “We should all change provider every 12 months to make the saving. Why would you continue to stay with the same one, and stay at the maximum rate?
“It’s a significant. For example if your energy bill is €1,000, you’ll get a discount of €400.
“The important thing is to be proactive and make the switch. Sometimes you don’t need to change providers to benefit from the saving - your own provider may match it.
“It might just be a case of one phone call to your existing provider to tell them you are leaving.
“They will often offer to match it”
Connor continued: “The big question is why more people don’t switch. If I said to you: ‘I’ll give you €300 or €400 for making a phone call, you’d be making that call’. I think they are simply not aware of the savings.”
He reckons headline news about rises in energy prices across all companies may have put people off.
Connor said: “They think they’ve all increased their prices, so what’s the point in switching? The answer is that introductory rate that is only offered to new customers. Others assume it will take hours on the phone.
“It sounds like a pain. You imagine you’ll ring up a utility company and be left on hold for donkey’s years waiting to get through.
“But it’s easy. There are two regulated switching sites - switcher and bonkers - that have an official stamp of approval.
“It’s a free service and is done without having to speak to a human.
“People are busy and it’s hard to squeeze everything into everyday life.But very few are so wealthy or busy that they can turn up their nose at €500.
“The end product is exactly the same from all of the companies and you will not suffer any break in supply.
Connor explained it applies to other services too - home, health and car insurance and phone providers.
He added: “If you ring up and say you’re going to switch, you could save yourself thousands. Set aside one day a year to switch them all and it would be a day well spent.”
Connor said he has never seen such pressure on the consumer in his decades’ long career.
He continued: “Nobody knows when it’s going to end. That kind of uncertainty is scary.”
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