EDF has launched a new energy tariff that offers the cheapest price on the market within the Big Six. But it can be beaten if you go with a smaller supplier.
EDF has launched the Blue+Price Promise fixed tariff, the cheapest energy tariff on offer from a Big Six supplier.
Based on a regional average of national prices, the annual cost of the tariff for a dual fuel customer will be £1,049. You can also leave your contract early without incurring an exit fee, a charge that normally stands at around £30 per fuel. Credit meter customers can select the tariff solely for their electricity supply.
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EDF’s promise
The Blue+Price Promise fixed tariff fixes your energy prices until 29th February 2016, and you can get paper bills for free. It’s open to new and existing customers.
In a first for the industry, EDF will be alerting customers if it, or any other supplier, creates a new tariff that would save them £1 a week or more, at the typical consumption defined by Ofgem (3,200kWh for electricity and 13,500kWh for gas).
Since there’s no fee for leaving, this means that customers could opt out of the tariff without being penalised, leaving their options open in the future in case a cheaper deal comes along.
New competition
Though EDF’s new tariff is not the cheapest fixed tariff in the energy market, it’s a step in the right direction for the largest suppliers.
Currently, smaller companies like first:utility, extraenergy and Green Star Energy offer the cheapest prices, but EDF have raised the bar for competition among the larger companies with their price promise and no-fee tariff exit.
With the energy market currently under scrutiny by the Competition and Markets Authority, EDF’s decision to make this new tariff available could help to spur competition along, which can only be good news for customers – although they’re not reaching down to the sub-£1,000 price range just yet, which remains the territory of some smaller suppliers.
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The best deals
Right now, the five cheapest deals for a medium-sized home (using an average amount of both gas and electricity) and paying by monthly direct debit are as follows.
| Supplier | Tariff | Estimated annual cost |
| extraenergy | Fixed Price September 2015 v8 | £973.02 |
| first:utility | iSave Fixed August 2015 | £978.02 |
| Flow Energy | Thames Fixed Online September 2015 | £1,002.48 |
| Green Star Energy | No Worries 12 Month Fixed 1406 | £1,003.96 |
| OVO Energy | Cheaper Energy Fixed | £1,018.73 |
Source: lovemoney.com energy comparison centre
All calculations are for an average usage dual fuel household paying by standard monthly direct debit.
Average usage as defined by OFGEM is 13,500 kWh pa of gas and 3,200 kWh pa of electricity giving an annual bill of £1,264
Despite their market share, not a single one of the big six makes it into the table, with EDF's new tariff being over £70 more expensive than extraenergy's current fixed rate tariff.
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