Posts Tagged ‘prices’
If high gas prices have got you down, here are seven simple gas saving tips that will have you using less gas and saving money. Get all 61 of my gas saving tips at http://www.fuelsavingzone.com
Duration : 0:6:42
Home Utilities like Gas and Electricity supplies, water and telephone bills are all expenses that can creep up on you with little indication of how much you’ll be paying until the bill drops through the letter box. With money being tighter than ever a lot of homeowners have found that its little things like bills that are secretly costing them a substantial sum of money.
It’s no surprise then that most UK residents have now taken a much more interested approach to their bills and considering all manner of different ways to cut them down to a more manageable level. This has been done in all manner of ways like turning off all lights and electrical goods when they’re not being used to more extreme measures like switching your supplier for a cheaper or more reliable company.
Luckily for customers of nPower (and possibly the future customers who may switch to them) they have recently announced that they will be dropping their electricity prices by 8% by the end of this month (March 2009) this would equate to a saving of £43 for customers however the cost of Gas will not be dropping unfortunately.
nPower is the last of the six major energy providers in the UK to drop their prices after significant increases this time last year. The cost of the natural resources that fuel our gas suppliers supplies has been cited as the blame for double-increases over the past year or so with Gas prices being especially high.
The increase in energy costs has had many customers switching suppliers which in itself is a long process as well as potential problems with being billed by both your new and old providers if the process isn’t carried out properly. Despite this issue a large percentage of UK residents have committed to getting cheaper energy by switching providers.
This willingness to switch may have started the trend of lowering energy prices to retain their current customers, since the beginning of the year energy prices have slowly been competing with each other to lower percentages. This is all good news for the customers as they should be seeing a reduction in their bills and potentially more in the near future.
Another potential reason is that last year regulators Ofgem announced it was to look into the discrepancies between resource costs and the charges being made to customers, there was talk that the major six suppliers had been involved in collusion to fix prices and charge the customer more. The initial report had been released at the beginning of March of this year
The report found that the energy providers weren’t guilty of passing on the increases to customers but failing to pass on reductions when the prices came down. Despite being cleared of any accusations it would seem with these recent reductions the suppliers are aiming to try and not look like the bad guy in these financially uncertain times.
The key to dragging your own gas and electricity bills down is obviously being more aware of your usage and how you can reduce it but also keeping an eye on other companies or bundled energy deals where you get both your gas and electricity from one company.
For many people electricity is just a service that they take for granted – they plug in their appliance, flick the power button on, and away they go. Most people only think about electricity when they have a power cut or a particularly high utility bill because of increasing electricity prices.
Understanding how electricity prices are determined requires a little bit of knowledge about how electricity works. Electricity is delivered to millions of homes through a network of power lines called the National Grid. Power plants generate electricity through various sources of energy and feed the grid in order to transmit electricity through the power lines to your home.
Some utility companies generate all their own electricity but – more often than not – the utility company will purchase their power supply from the wholesale electricity markets, which can come from domestic suppliers or abroad. Your electricity prices can fluctuate depending on how much your supplier has to pay for the electricity from foreign markets.
A poor exchange rate or shortage in world power supply will push electricity prices up as suppliers pass on increased costs to consumers. Often a ‘power pool’ is created to conglomerate neighbouring resources which increases reliability of power supply and prevents power outages.
Electricity prices are based mainly on the current availability of fuels available used to generate electricity for the grid. Most of our electricity comes from coal and oil, but natural gas is a growing commodity as it is the cleanest burning of the three fossil fuels. The more fuel there is, the cheaper electricity prices get. Electricity prices can also be affected by construction costs incurred by utility companies to build new power plants, as well as outside factors such as major international events and the weather.
Electricity prices are most expensive during the day during peak times, usually in the afternoon and early evening. Where possible, if you are on a variable rate, use your electrical appliances early in the morning and late at night to get cheaper electricity prices.
TalkTalk’s takeover of Tiscali could result in some ex-Tiscali customers facing higher monthly bills for their broadband.
TalkTalk will commence moving customers onto its own broadband platform this week after completing its takeover of Tiscali.
Customers on Tiscali’s popular unlimited broadband package received a letter last month which explained that they could either move onto TalkTalk’s phone and broadband package for £14.99 a month or pay an extra £5 per month or £60 per year to remain on their current broadband deal.
Many recipients of the letter are unhappy faced with the choice of a new 18 month contract with TalkTalk or an increased bill with no extra benefits in return.
When questioned about the possibility of price rises, TalkTalk’s spokesman Mark Schmid told The Guardian: “Our aim is to have one set of clearly understood prices, that will mean that no one is paying more than the TalkTalk tariff.”
Tiscali operated a set of near-identical broadband and home phone packages to TalkTalk, the majority at lower prices.
The effect of the switch means that many former Tiscali customers could see monthly bills rise to match TalkTalk pricing.
Customers on Tiscali’s top package which included all call costs, broadband and line rental face an increase of around £10 per month if prices are raised to match the TalkTalk product of the same nature.
In an attempt to capitalise on the publicity, other broadband providers have announced special promotions specifically targeted at ex-Tiscali customers.
PlusNet launched a broadband deal which offers ex-Tiscali customers 3 months free broadband as well as a free wireless router and free connection.
Former Tiscali customers need to sign up online before the end of the month with the promotional code ’tiscalisave’ to benefit.
BT is also offering a special £9.99 package for any Tiscali customers looking to leave the company when it is taken over.
The BT broadband offer can only be accessed when ringing 08000497843 and interested customers need to mention the Tiscali promotion to qualify.
Elsewhere, other broadband providers are offering deals which are unconnected to the events surrounding Tiscali and TalkTalk yet represent significant value.
Many broadband experts suggest that anyone looking for a good broadband deal at present, whether ex-Tiscali or not, should compare broadband deals online at a comparison website.
Julia Kukiewicz of ChooseISP.co.uk says: “Be broadband now offer a very similar broadband package for just £7.50 per month. This is significant value and much cheaper than many inferior broadband deals on the market at present.”.
As a part of the on going financial problems in the UK gas and electricity prices were one of the first vital expenses to go up in cost in 2008, scaremongering in late 2007 proved to hold weight when people’s prepay utility bills skyrocketed by over 100%. As other areas of our lives increased in cost things like food and petrol also began an upward trend.
The thing is that whilst we can’t do much about food costs rising, (you can either put up with the prices or starve to death) but with the advanced warning we got about energy consumption and the increased spotlight on energy and recycling we have been lectured about in the media many people were intentionally using less energy, turning off lights and not leaving TVs on standby.
Despite all these extra steps we’ve taken this year our bills are set to rise yet again as early reports come in. Some residents in parts of the country have been informed of their new monthly costs and they don’t make for pleasant reading, the majority of customers of the main energy companies have received notification that their energy bills are set to rise for 2009.
Why is this happening? Well some may argue that the cost of oil and coal rising has evidently pushed the by-products of gas and electricity up, but not since the cost of oil has dropped over the past few months. The evidence of this is that petrol and diesel have dropped well below their early 08 prices, who would have thought five months ago that Unleaded would be below £1.00 again?
The case for this seemingly wrong rise in energy costs is further exacerbated by energy firms like E-on and British Gas reporting booming profits. Many customers who are adamant they have not consumed more energy have smelt a rat and contacted their energy company and demanded a reading of their meters. The result? The energy company realised they had over-quoted these customers and dropped the proposed increases.
So is the energy industry bleeding their customers dry? Or is the pricing of our gas and electricity bills just a crapshoot? It seems at the moment with the prospect of energy going up again now may be the time to enquire about your bills and even consider switching your supplier to get a better deal.
British Gas has announced it will be cutting standard gas tariff prices by 10% to take effect by the 19th February. British Gas are the first UK’s major energy supplier to cut prices after the major energy suppliers were urged at the end of 2008 by the government to pass on lower wholesale gas prices.
The price of wholesale gas is linked to oil which has seen its prices fall significantly. Firms increased the gas and electricity prices in July 2008 many blaming higher wholesale costs. Prices at British Gas rose by a record 35% and other firms lifted there’s around 20% leading the average duel fuel bill to rise by £300 over the year.
The 10% price cut by British Gas will benefit more that 7.5 million homes and cut £84 from the average homes annual gas bill. British gas will also be introducing prompt payment discounts for customers who pay by quarterly cash, cheque, quarterly equal payments and quarterly variable direct debit. All British Gas customers shall receive the price change automatically.
It is hoped that other suppliers will follow suit and prices become lower. Once other firms start reducing prices consumers can then look around to make sure they are getting the best deal. Changing suppliers who offer lower prices may benefit consumers who are looking to lower the price of their bills.
It does not cost any money to change supplier the only difference a customer will see is a different company name on their bills and cheaper prices. Uswitch is an impartial energy calculator which uses the latest rates direct from suppliers. It is a completely free service which compares prices to see how much money you can save on your energy bills. www.uswitch.com
If you are looking for more ways to decrease your spending then check out LuckyDustBingo’s top ten tips for changing those spending habits and tightening your belt right now. www.luckydustbingo.co.uk/reviews/latest-news-new-year-new-budget-new-you.html
In the first quarter of 2008 British Gas, the major gas supplier in the UK, increased prices to the tune of 15%. The company attributed these increases to rising wholesale costs that needed to be passed on to end users to maintain profit margins.
Centrica, who own the British Gas brand, gave forewarning of the increases before Christmas. It is anticipated that the average household fuel bill will increase by £130 annually as a result. Last year the company actually reduced gas prices by 20% (and electricity prices by 17%). In this way British Gas won back a good proportion of its old customer base.
In order to supply some good news to offset the damaging publicity caused by these new rises the company has proposed a programme of installing free home insulation for the over 70s. It is unlikely that this measure will be sufficient to prevent customers from wanting to compare gas prices. After all, the gas may flow through the same pipes but there are in fact at least a dozen suppliers selling the service. Not all the names are as familiar as British Gas but in view of this competition it seems sensible to compare gas prices.
In response to the increase in prices, British Gas has called vigorously for the freeing up of the energy market. They hope that such a move would uncouple gas prices from oil prices: a connection that is always a driver when gas prices go up. Of course, many customers might also recall the millions spent on advertising by British Gas and think this money may have been better spent improving service. For anyone harbouring such thoughts it certainly makes sense to compare gas prices.
17.4.2008
How do you really compare utility prices? To compare utility prices people naturally head towards one of the price comparison websites. These websites supposedly show you best deal for you at the current time. Where this may seem like a fantastic tool to compare utility prices, don’t be fooled into thinking these sites compare utility prices out of the goodness of their hearts. They are a business and make their money letting you compare utility prices and then trying to get you to switch.
To prove this go to one of the price comparison sites for cheap utilities and fill your current supplier details. You will then get a recommendation that lets you compare utility prices, highlighting the best deals. Now repeat the exercise but use the details of the company they just recommended – You will most likely receive a different recommendation. In short they need you to switch so they get paid.
After all of your hard work to compare your utility prices you will find your self locked into a contract and the price going up, or locked into a contract with everyone else’s prices going down. All you can do is wait it out and compare again next year. If they knew their deal was going to be the best they would not need tie in contracts because they know that if you went to compare utility prices you would always stay put.
There is a way where you can stop having to compare utility prices, and that is by joining the Utility Warehouse Discount Club. They don’t advertise on these sites and don’t pay commissions to these sites. They rely on satisfied customers recommending their friends. What makes Utility Warehouse so good is that most of the services don’t have a minimum term contract applied. This means if your not getting the best deal and are not satisfied after you compare utility prices then you can leave.
The reason you can stop having to compare utility prices is that Utility Warehouse offer a triple value guarantee. 1. For your Gas, they will always be cheaper than British Gas, wherever you live in the UK. 2. For your electricity, they guarantee the prices charged will always be cheaper than the prices charged by the regional electricity for where you live. 3. For complete peace of mind they guarantee their prices will always remain competitive compared with the cheapest standard tariffs available from the “big 6” suppliers
If you want to compare utility prices have a look at Utility Warehouse. They supply cheaper home phone, cheaper broadband, cheaper mobile phones both cheaper contract phones and pay as you go deals, as well as cheaper gas and cheaper electricity. And because you’re a member of a club you get loads of great benefits however the best product by far is the cashback card that will get you 5% cash back on all your household shopping and petrol. If you are looking to gain a bigger discount on your utilities bill then recommend your friends and family, for this Utility Warehouse will discount your bill.
Find out more, Click here.
