MARTIN Lewis has shared how people can save money on their energy bills following Ofgem's announcement of a price hike.
Energy bills for millions of Scottish households will increase from April 1 when Ofgem increases its price cap for a third consecutive quarter.
The regulator said the increase of 6.4%, which will raise the average bill for households in Scotland on a standard variable tariff from the current £1738 a year to £1849, follows a spike in wholesale prices.
The rise will equate to £111 for an average household per year, or around £9.25 a month, over the three-month period of the price cap, 9.4% or £159 higher than this time last year but £531.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com said the cheapest fixed deals currently available were around 4% cheaper than the current price cap, which would increase to around 10% less once Ofgem’s latest increase takes effect from April 1.
“Based on the predictions at the moment, once it goes up in April it ain’t coming back down to these levels for the next year. So as you can fix currently at cheaper than the current cap, never mind before it goes up, it is a no brainer to fix.”
Lewis suggested consumers wait until around lunchtime on Tuesday to check for deals, and to make sure to use comparison sites that take in the whole market by default rather than cutting out some suppliers who do not pay to be listed, as he understood some cost-effective deals were due to be launched this morning.
“And remember that when you do a comparison, remember that the savings you’re given on the cheapest fix are compared to the current price cap. So they won’t look big, they might say £30, £40 a year. But remember it’s going up by 6% so if you do nothing your price would rise whereas if you fix your price would drop.”
