Which? responds to energy price cap increase

Alex Neill, Which? Managing Director of Home Services, said:

“This eye-watering increase to the price cap will be a shock to the system for people who thought that it would protect them from rising bills.

“Energy customers can take the power back into their hands by switching and securing a better deal before the new cap comes into effect in April. While there are fewer cheap deals on the market than a year ago, by switching today you could choose better customer service and potentially save more than £150 a year.”

Notes to editors

  • Customers looking for cheaper energy deals can compare deals with Which? Switch, a transparent and impartial way to compare energy tariffs and find the best gas and electricity supplier.
  • Which? calculates that a medium user (using 3,100kWh gas and 12,000kWh electricity per year) on a dual-fuel default or tariff standard tariff at the level of the current price cap could save up to £163 by switching to the cheapest deal on the market. Based on tariffs available in all regions in England, Scotland and Wales, paying by monthly direct debit, with paperless bills. Data is from Energylinx and correct on 04 February 2019.
  • Which? conducted research with consumers to ask about their awareness and likely bill impact of the energy price cap, via an online survey conducted by Research Now SSI of 4,054 people across the United Kingdom. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK population, with questions on the energy price cap only being asked to respondents in Great Britain. This found that more people were unaware of the energy price cap (48%) than were aware of it (45%) and, for those consumers who had never switched supplier – hence more likely to be disengaged and supposed to benefit most from the introduction of the price cap – the proportion who thought their bills would decrease was only 13%. Further detail on the research is available at: https://consumerinsight.which.co.uk/articles/energy-price-cap-attitudes.
  • In December Which? found that the number of energy deals costing less than £1,000 a year for medium users had dropped from 77 in January to eight. As of Monday 4th February there were six deals costing £1,000 a year or less: https://press.which.co.uk/whichpressreleases/cheap-energy-deals-vanishing-from-market-as-price-cap-comes-in-which-reveals/