Money expert Martin Lewis is urging energy customers to act ‘in the next two or three days’.
That’s because the cheapest fixes currently on the market will start to disappear following the announcement of the latest Ofgem energy price cap, Martin said.
On Tuesday, energy regulator Ofgem announced the latest price cap will increase by £111 on average for households with typical use, with unit rates going up for electricity and gas and standing charges going up for gas, but down for electricity, taking average bills to £1,849 per year, a 6.4% rise.
But this only applies to the standard variable tariff, i.e. any customer not currently on a fixed tariff.
Martin Lewis, speaking on his latest The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV1 on February 25, dubbed the price cap ‘the pants cap’ and urged people to get off it.
He spoke to an audience member who was asked to switch off the standard variable while the show was live, to find out how much he could save.
Later on, the man told Martin he had saved £450 a year by switching his energy right there in the studio.
Martin set out that the current energy price quotes use the existing price cap (January to March), so in reality you’re likely to save even more than the price comparison websites will show you now.
Martin said: “That’s actually a lot because that’s against the current price cap.
“So interestingly, if you’re electricity-only the cheapest fix for electricity-only is actually about 11-12% cheaper than the current price cap whereas if you’re on dual fuel it’s only 6% cheaper.
“£450 saved against the price cap – before the rise!”
But he warned that the best deals are only likely to be around for two to three more days.
Martin added: “It’s a very quick process; if you haven’t done it, well I think they’re all crashing now but most of the fixes are available for the next two or three days, the cheap ones, minimum, that have been launched. So get on it in the next two or three days, see whether you can save or not and remember the saving will be bigger.”
