British energy users urged to switch to fixed deals to save up to £230 | Energy bills

Those worried about higher energy bills in the spring are being urged to switch to a cheaper, fixed deal now. On Thursday there were tariffs on offer that meant an average household could save up to about £230 a year.

The average energy bill in Great Britain will rise by £111 from April to £1,849 a year for a typical household, it was announced on Tuesday. This is the third increase in a row. That amount is for a dual-fuel customer who pays by direct debit.

However, many people could lop a decent chunk off their costs by switching. Visit the price comparison websites to see how much you can save. Check out two or more of the sites if possible, as they sometimes have exclusive or “limited-time” offers. When using these sites, though, make sure they are showing you all the available deals, not just some of them.

The industry regulator Ofgem has announced a 6.4% increase to the energy price cap, which is set every three months and limits the amount suppliers can charge for each unit of energy.

The cap affects about 22 million customers in England, Scotland and Wales who are on standard variable tariffs.

Since Ofgem’s last price cap announcement in November, four million customers have moved over to a fixed deal.

Some of that is likely to be down to consumer champions such as Martin Lewis and articles in the Guardian and elsewhere last autumn that were urging people to switch to a better deal. In October, Lewis declared that you are “ripping yourself off” if you stay on your supplier’s default tariff, adding: “Nobody should be on the price cap.”

There are now 11 million people on a fixed-energy deal, and the current advice is very much that this is the way to go. Even Ofgem says that fixing now could “help to bring costs down and provide certainty over coming payments”.

Richard Neudegg, at the price comparison site Uswitch, says that if you are still sitting on a standard variable tariff, now is the time to act.

“There are plenty of fixed deals available that are cheaper than today’s rates, let alone the higher April prices. A fixed deal could protect you from further price increases for 12 months or longer,” he adds.

At the time of writing, one of the cheapest fixes on the market was from Ecotricity. This 12-month tariff is called Domestic Smart 1 Year Fixed Green Tariff Feb 25 and costs £1,620 for households with average usage, which is £229 less than the April price cap annual figure.

Close behind was Outfox the Market, which was offering a number of competitively priced deals.

There is also a British Gas deal that fixes your payments for 16 months: Fixed Tariff v33, where the estimated yearly cost for an average dual-fuel household is £1,668, thereby offering a £181 saving on the April cap figure.

Uswitch also highlighted fixed tariffs from the likes of E.ON Next, Ovo Energy, EDF and So Energy that, at the time of writing, all offered decent typical savings against the current price cap.

Remember that the best fixed deals for you will depend on where you live and how much energy you use.

Also, be aware that many fixed-rate deals carry exit fees that kick in if you try to leave before the end of your contract. You may be looking at a fee of between £25 and £75 for each fuel. So check when you sign up to a deal.

Emily Seymour, energy editor at the consumer body Which?, says that when shopping around, “as a rule of thumb we’d recommend looking for deals cheaper than the price cap, not longer than 12 months, and without significant exit fees”.