Newbie to gas & electric

Lovetoread

Hi, I'm looking for some advice and tips.

For several years I've paid for gas & electric via PAYG key metres which I've always liked as I can see exactly what I'm using and I'm very good at budgeting.

However, we have just bought a property which doesn't have key metres so we thought we would go direct debit as its generally cheaper. We were paying on average £80 per month for gas & electric (less in summer, more in winter etc).

I have no clue where to begin. I'm going to a friends this weekend to use her Internet, as we haven't set that up yet, to look at comparison websites.

Do you have any tips or advise on who to go with? What to look out for? I know energy prices have gone up recently, or due to go up, so would it be worth having a fixed rate? I took pictures of gas & electric metres when we moved in so they wouldn't give us an estimated bill from previous owners.

Thanks in advance.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Lovetoread wrote: »

Hi, I'm looking for some advice and tips.

For several years I've paid for gas & electric via PAYG key metres which I've always liked as I can see exactly what I'm using and I'm very good at budgeting.

However, we have just bought a property which doesn't have key metres so we thought we would go direct debit as its generally cheaper. We were paying on average £80 per month for gas & electric (less in summer, more in winter etc).

I have no clue where to begin. I'm going to a friends this weekend to use her Internet, as we haven't set that up yet, to look at comparison websites.

Do you have any tips or advise on who to go with? What to look out for? I know energy prices have gone up recently, or due to go up, so would it be worth having a fixed rate? I took pictures of gas & electric metres when we moved in so they wouldn't give us an estimated bill from previous owners.

Thanks in advance.

You need 2 things to compare tariffs:
1. Post Code
2. Consumption details

Clearly 2. will be a problem.

The national average is 13500 KWh Gas, and 3200 KWh Elec. This is assuming gas central heating.

This should give you a decent guideline. The benefit of a credit meter is paying by DD, if you pay when you get the bill it's the same price as PPM, negating any advantage.

There is no one "perfect" supplier - if there were we'd all be with them. You'll be offered a bewildering array of fixed or variable tariffs. Take your gut instinct.

First thing to do is contact whoever supplies the property with the meter readings when you moved in, you can't switch away until you've registered with the current supplier.