Findings released by uSwitch indicate that bills increased by some 38 per cent, or 277 pounds, over the course of 2006. However, following a 56 per cent decrease in wholesale energy prices so far this year, providers are only said to have implemented price cuts of up to 100 pounds. With just over three quarters (78 per cent) of consumers not making full use of more competitive deals offered by other providers, the price comparison website suggested that Britons may not receive the 177 pounds each (a total of more than 3 billion pounds) that they are still owed in reductions. Meanwhile, the firm also raised concerns that suppliers will use seasonal variations in wholesale prices as an excuse to stave off from making any more cuts, despite many energy companies being “well positioned” to do so.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy for uSwitch, claimed that unless households fail to act then pressure on their finances could continue, which in turn may extend to increased difficulties in paying off loans and credit cards. She said: “The clock is ticking and consumers could see this window of opportunity slammed shut in their faces unless they continue to force the issue with suppliers. The price war kicked off because of consumer power – British Gas, the first supplier to cut prices, did so in response to losing over one million customers and then the other suppliers followed suit. Consumers now need to keep the pressure on and make competition work for themselves”.

She added that the best way for consumers to reduce the pressure utility bills put on their finances is by “taking action themselves” and switching to a cheaper provider. “The benefits will be twofold while price cuts to date amount to 100 pounds, a consumer could save over 200 pounds by switching from their incumbent supplier to the cheapest dual fuel plan. But also, by voting with their feet, consumers may force suppliers to cut prices again”, Ms Robinson suggested.

Overall, only one out of eight British households are reported to be on the cheapest energy deal being offered by suppliers. Meanwhile, 2.4 million households are losing out on about 174 million pounds every year by not paying their bills via direct debt, as 4.2 million miss out on 42 million pounds by not moving to a dual fuel tariff, uSwitch asserts. Findings from the price comparison website also indicated that 9.3 million consumers are still to change utility provider, with an estimated 69 per cent of the over-60s yet to do so.

In related news, figures released by MoneyExpert earlier this year revealed the proportion of consumers switching to more competitively-priced financial products has fallen. Currently, the number of people moving provider on areas such as secured loans was said to have decreased by 5.4 million from a similar survey conducted at the start of 2007. Overall, some 54 per cent of the Britons were reported to have not switched over the last six months – an increase of five per cent from research carried out during the last quarter.

The British Gas corporation was formed in the year 1973 followed by a division of twelve old Gas Boards into various regions each of which was responsible for a particular geographical area. The company also offers a free bespoke ‘Energy Savers Report’. This report plays an important role of guiding the people about the ways of saving energy.

During this tough time, when there is economic crisis across the world, it is very important to choose the cheapest deal. There are many websites available today which perform the task of informing the people about the various energy suppliers and the deals offered by them. These days, the energy suppliers maintain their own dedicated websites so as to inform the users about themselves. British gas has also maintained a website imparting a deep knowledge about the British gas deals. One can learn everything about the supplier and deals with the help of this site. In addition to this, one can also make bill payments online with the help of such sites. The process is hassle free as well as time consuming. So, enjoy the latest British gas deals available at cost effective prices with the help of all such websites.

This British Gas Energy Suppliers operates under the same name in England and Whales while in Scotland the service operates as Scottish gas. This company has large number of employees. Its total staff in the UK based call centers is around 12000 along with 8000 CORGI registered engineers. The company is famous for the supply of gas, electricity as well as the dual fuel services to more than 11,000,000 homes and businesses. The British gas energy supplier mainly aims at providing good quality customer service to the users. It provides various options to the users for saving money. An array of products is offered by the British gas energy supplier to the users on various plan options thus allowing them to save their hard earned money. It is considered as the biggest supplier of green power to large number of homes in Britain as it has the lowest CO2 emissions in its electricity. Various tariffs are offered by the British gas. The two main tariff plans that are provided by this company to the users are Web Saver 4 and Standard. One of the competitive tariff of the British gas is WebSaver 4. The standard dual fuel tariff of the British gas is available to both the new and the existing customers. Apart from these two tariffs, green energy tariffs is also offered by the British gas energy supplier. These are called as Energy and Zero Carbon.

A free bespoke ‘Energy Savers Report’ is also offered by this company which shows the different methods of saving energy in your home. The British gas also offers some other products to its customers. These are Prepayment meters, the HomeCare central heating maintenance and repair service and boiler installation. It also provides home insulation services as well as green gadgets such as solar powered torches and standby Busters. Applying for British gas energy supplier is a very easy process. One can apply online. After choosing the tariff you just need to fill the application form. Before doing so, you need to clear all your outstanding payments with the old supplier otherwise it can cause delay in the process of switching. Once you have filled the form, whole of the paperwork will be looked after by the British Gas. It will take around a time period of six to eight weeks in the process of switching. When it comes to bill, one can easily pay it through direct debit or BACs. The best method of paying the bill is by direct debit as there are less chances of missing any payment and also large amount of money can be saved by adopting this method of payment.

The British Gas energy supplier has various plans for future also. It is looking forward to invest in green energies. It is planning to launch various micro-generation technologies for the betterment of the domestic customers. Apart from this, the company is also making plans to introduce services like online statements option for bringing down the cost and production of paper.