Homes and Property

Controlling bills made easy

By Lucy Tobin
When npower last month admitted overcharging more than a million customers without them noticing, energy industry insiders said confusing bills were to blame.

Now a new initiative by industry watchdog Ofgem should help you to understand your gas and electricity bills more easily and make it simpler to switch to a cheaper supplier.

If you haven’t already, you should soon receive the first of what will be annual statements for your gas and electricity use that list the tariffs you are on, how much energy you’ve used in the past year, the likely cost for next year if you stay on the same tariffs, and any discounts available.

Having clear details of your energy usage will also make it much easier to use comparison sites, such as uswitch.com or moneysupermarket.com, to find cheaper energy.

The statement will also tell you whether you face an exit penalty if you quit a fixed-rate tariff early. But note that some older fixed-rate deals are now so expensive it would still be worthwhile paying the penalty and going somewhere cheaper.



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