First Time Buyer - energy costs

alandem07

We are buying our first house and are trying to research utility bill costs before moving in. However all the comparison sites are asking lots of questions about the previous company used and how much is usually spent/used. Whilst we know who the energy companies are we have not used anything yet and would not know the answers. How can we find quotes for a first time buyer without having to call each energy company up?

Terrylw1

There are lots of posts on here in the same vein so if you have a look through them, and I'm sure you will get some feedback on here to your thread, you should hopefully get something to play with.

Ofgem also publish yealy averages. On Google you should also find some studies on different types of properties by some bodies/trusts.

macman

Just use average kWh figures for your type of property. So for a 3 b/r house with gas CH and DWH, start with 16,500kWH gas and 3,750kWH of electricity. That'll be near enough for this purpose.
It doesn't matter which supplier or tariff you put in as 'current'; the point is to get the comparative data.
Remember that you wil be in a deemed contract with the existing suppliers from day one, so you must take readings and register with them before you can commence a switch.

jalexa

macman wrote: »

It doesn't matter which supplier or tariff you put in as 'current'; the point is to get the comparative data.

This is not to trip-up your post, indeed I've made identical points myself previously, but to help the OP and others.

There is quite a sneaky feature allowed by the Consumer Focus confidence code. It centres round a question similar to "show plans we can switch you to today?" If answered "yes", IMO an obvious answer, the results will not include whole of market options which for one reason or another are only available direct from the supplier. An important category is same supplier. So for example, if Scottish Power was entered as the current supplier and "yes" was selected as the above question answer, Scottish Power tariffs would not be shown.

Quite a tricky concept for a comparison newbie:(. Maybe someone can explain it better. Maybe somebody can explain why Consumer Focus sanctions such a sneaky concept:(.

nickt1988

depends on the size of the property, i've just brought a three bed flat, our bills through BG are 60quid a month for both gas and electric.