To stick with my current energy provider or not?

lettucekl

I have been a house owner for just over a month now and still not living at the premises fulltime as decorating it. As i needed to sort out an energy provider i selected British Gas and am currently on their Dual Standard tariff. As i haven't been in the property a long time and dont know roughly what my month usage is im not sure if i should be sticking with BG or moving to a possibly cheaper provider?, but how do i know this if i dont know what my month usage and bills should be each month and be able to compare it to a possibly cheaper provider!?

I know this is not a normal situation to be in and thats why im a bit confused as to whats the best cause of action to take. Come spring time by what reports are saying the prices will be hiked up dramatically....and even by spring time i still probably wont know what my average monthly bill should be or my monthly usage.

Im guessing i should get a fixed rate with BG...but then what after 6 months or so when i get a handle on what my monthly bill is i find a cheaper provider but then have to fork out for the Exit fee that changing to a fixed tariff will incur (at the moment with a standard tariff there is no exit fee)

So what is the best cause of action for someone in my position who is new on the property ladder?

System

You no doubt contacted the Deemed Supplier first with a meter reading and your details when you moved in? Ask the supplier for the Estimated Annual Consumption (EAC) and Annual Quantity (AQ) for your property and use these figures as the basis for a comparison. It's a good starter for 10. Enjoy your new home.

matelodave

Unless the place is a ginormous palace, cotton mill or tiny one roomed bed sit then the accepted annual averages of around 3200-3500kwh of leccy and 12500-13500kwh of gas give a pretty good starting point for plugging into a comparison site.

It's a bit more complex if you are all electric and on E7 but it's not all that difficult to make an estimate and then do a couple of comparisons with the consumption increased and decreased by 20% or so to get a feel for what happens to the cost

Norman_Castle

Consider exit fees when choosing a new supplier. Some have a zero exit fee.