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MONEY COMMENT
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It's been five years since the energy market opened up to competition and yet half of all gas and electricity customers have yet to switch suppliers. That's 13 million electricity customers and 10 million gas users who could be paying as much as 20% over the odds! The problem is that if people don't shop around for better deals, energy suppliers get complacent about competitive pricing. Around 5 million, SWEB Energy, London Energy, Seeboard Energy and Virgin Home Energy customers are about to see their bills go up for the second time in six months. It'll amount to an average 10.5% increase in electricity and 8.1% for gas so far this year. And Powergen customers are no better off either with their second price increase this year coming into force next month. All these price increases have annoyed the consumer group, Energywatch, who say customers shouldn't accept continual rises in energy costs 'without question'. Admittedly the price rises are understandable - since November 2003, the cost of wholesale gas has risen by 28% while wholesale electricity has gone up by 20% but suppliers vary in how much of the extra cost is passed on to the consumer. Energywatch estimates that customers can save £10 a month or more every year by switching. So, don't let your suppliers take you for granted - if they put their prices up, take action by shopping around for a better deal. Compare prices with uSwitch.