Stick With British Gas For Cheaper Energy!

You can stick with British Gas and knock off £100 from your bill by going green! Plus, the energy regulator calls for us all to review our tariffs...

The energy regulator, Ofgem, reckons that customers who have never switched their gas or electricity supplier could save £150 by switching to the best deal.So it's not surprising that the numbers of people switching rocketed in 2006. Indeed, 4 million people switched their energy suppliers in the first ten months of last year. Assuming the trend continued, that could mean about 4.8 million by the end of the year.But here's the really interesting bit. You might imagine that you have to switch from British Gas to save a lot of money, but that's not true. Unlike other suppliers, BG will allow you to switch to one of its cheaper tariffs. If you want cheaper utility bills, but you don't want to leave British Gas, you can find its best deal if you compare utility prices here, and then apply for the cheapest BG tariff on the list.I just typed in rough figures: a person living somewhere near Leeds paying British Gas £600 per year for gas and electricity could quite easily save £100 by switching to a cheaper BG tariff. What's more, British Gas's top two tariffs are identically-priced. The difference between them is that one is green and the other isn't. So why not go green? The strange thing is, our provider, Xelector, tells me that about 96% of you choose the 'brown' tariff rather than the green one. Bizarre!Like most Fools, however, I find that loyalty doesn't pay. The same person from outside Leeds could have saved £175 by switching to the cheapest provider, a 30% saving on his bills! You don't have to be a British Gas customer to save money either. Last time my household switched, we moved from EDF Energy to Atlantic Electric and Gas, and we saved £100.As the energy regulator says: "Customers who have already switched supplier should still check they are getting a good deal for their energy as their supplier may no longer be offering them the best one. This also applies to customers who are coming to the end of a fixed price deal."> Use the most accurate search on the Web! Compare gas and electricity prices using our variable tariff search. Learn more in Three Tips For Cheaper Utility Bills.