Energy Saving Q&A

Yes, but it has to be seen in an elaborative manner as you know Energy regulator 'Ofgem' expects that the average prepayment user can save up to £100 by staying in the same deal. So if you switch in between supplier could pay itself in a year. So, apart from that you will have to pay a fee to engineer who completes your installation for standard meter and that is an expensive matter especially for lower income group. So that company charges to swap meter, for example E.ON takes £100 for new installation. But there is no provision of meter for fee and it doesn't matter whether you are original tenant or not. You simply may be asked to pay security deposit.

This is kilowatt hour that is commonly known as kWh, it is a unit of energy by which the energy consumed by your household can be calculated and charged for. It measures energy that is calculated by multiplying the power of appliance by the amount of time it is used. You can calculate the energy consumption rating and the cost of per unit of electricity from your supplier. User can also draw how much it is costing to run any electronic appliance in the household. Take an example, if a 2,5 kW kettle is used for two hours a week and a unit of electricity costs £0.08, then the number of units used is 2.5 kW multiplied 2 hours. So it comes 5 kWh. Top find the cost of using the kettle over a week you multiply the number of units used by the cost per unit. In this example the cost of running a kettle over a week would equal £0.40 of your electricity bill.

Doorstep selling need not necessarily be at your doorstep. A salesman can meet you at your home, in the market or in the street with the prospect of selling his product or service. The salesman can sell anything, ranging from cookies to service of a new energy provider. Such type of selling can also work out in one's favour, as long as the information provided by the salesman is useful for you.

Energy Retail Association, the energy trade body, has revealed that over twelve million houses are visited by energy salesman on an yearly basis. This results in many households opting for other suppliers.

Most salesman are courteous and honest with their job, others can be plucky. Many instances have been reported wherein salesmen have been reported to be behaving inappropriately. This has led to concerns that consumers are misled.

Doorstep mis-selling by energy suppliers
Ofgem, the energy based watchdog in UK, has been on the receiving end of a number of complaints regarding tactics adopted by doorstep salespeople in selling their services. December 2008 saw npower being imposed a fine of £1.8 million by Ofgem because its salespeople had misled and deceived its customers.

Energy salespeople may advocate that you will save money and eventually get a cheaper deal. However, the cheapest deal for you can depend on where you live, your energy consumption, your present tariff and the amount of money you pay for your energy supply. Hence, always keep in mind that what the salesperson is calling a cheap deal, it might after all, not be the cheapest deal for you.

Always compare prices on the Internet to know about the cheapest deal that there is. All suppliers with their deals are listed on a comparison site. You can easily sit at home and decide which deal is ideal for your energy requirements.

Doorstep selling regulations
There are certain Doorstep Selling Regulations which must be followed by every salesperson. If you are convinced with what the salesperson is offering and eventually decide to sign the contract, you will be provided with a seven day cooing period, during which you can cancel the contract. Even in case of no written contract, it is the duty of the salesperson to give details about your cancellation rights in writing.

Apart from these regulations, there are a number of other practices that can aid a customer:

1. DSA( Direct Selling Association) Code of Practice: If the doorstep salesperson is a member of the DSA, he must carry around an ID card and show it to the customer. He must also provide absolutely correct information about the company's product and services. You, on the other hand, will get a 14 day cooling period during which, the contract can be canceled and the refund be claimed.
2. Association of Energy Suppliers’ (AES) Code of Practice: By virtue of this practice, every sales person must conform to certain rules while selling a product or service to a customer face to face. According to the practice, a salesperson can contact you at your home only between 9 am and 8 pm, not use high pressure tactics to sell a product, not exploit a customer and must leave a customer's place when asked to do so.

However, if you think that a salesperson has broken any of these regulations, feel free to get in touch with the local Trading Standards department or the Deptt. Of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

In a nutshell, here is a list of things you should do in case an energy salesperson shows up:

1. Check their ID card and the company's representative they are
2. DO no refrain from saying “no” at any point from the starting to the end.
3. It is advised to read the document inside out before committing.
4. Get all possible details from the salesperson upon signing the contract.
5. If at any point you find the salesperson's behaviour objectionable, ask him to leave.

Increasing monthly direct debit payments without any notification has become a common practice for many suppliers nowadays. The direct debit payment system is becoming unfair with customers being charged for a lot more energy than they actually consume. It applies to any type of gas and electricity tariff whether capped, online or a standard rate deal.

To reconcile this problem, energy regulator, Ofgem is now looking into the matter. It has also said, “Suppliers should treat their customers fairly, and we expect them to do so. To date we have no quantified evidence indicating misuse of direct debit schemes.”
Now the issue remains that what shall one do to refrain from falling victim to these unfair practices. Though the energy regulator is already doing their bit to rectify the deformed situation. But as a consumer, it is our responsibility to remain cautious and avoid falling pray to such unfortunate deeds. Few things that everybody should know and keep a track of -

Being a customer you have all the right to question your supplier, in case you find any lacuna in your monthly energy bills. It has been estimated that on an average, a normal household's duel fuel annual bill is £1,308*. If you discover your energy bills going beyond that, do ask your supplier to give valid explanation. Also, if you’re already in credit and being told that repayments are to rise substantially, then challenge your supplier.

Always make sure that you give the accurate meter reading to the supplier, than allow it to ascertain on the basis of estimation. Suppliers often overestimate usage and set direct debit payments accordingly. This will lead to determining unfair energy usage and overpayment by the customers. It has been predicted by the Energy watchdog, Consumer Focus that up to a third of all bills could be inaccurate due to estimated readings. By taking regular readings, the supplier should be able to predict usage more accurately.

Though as a customer you are free to keep your direct debit payments at any level you feel like. As even in case of any deficit you can pay off the remaining amount at any specific time. But it is always advisable to remain realistic while setting the limit, as if you set them too low you will end up paying whopping big amount to fill the gap. This will pinch you that time.

As a customer, you should also be aware of when and what is being debited from your account. For instance, under the direct debit guarantee it has been stated that if there are any changes in the amount of payment to be made to the supplier, or the payment dates, it is the responsibility of the supplier to intimate the customer before hand, for the same. If they fail to do that, you have all the right to challenge and complain to your supplier. If any money is taken in error, the guarantee directs bank to refund the money wrongly taken.

Besides the regular payment methods, one can also opt for quarterly direct debit. In this mode of payment, the customer can simply pay for the fuel they've actually consumed, providing a meter reading is taken. As the payments are made after every quarter, it deprives the consumer to spread the payments. Also one can could also lose the discounts given by the energy suppliers for paying monthly.

Even after all this, your energy payment allows for no rebate, or your supplier refuses to give back your surplus. Do not feel hesitant in canceling the direct debit, take the refund , and then reinstate it at an amount you are comfortable with. But keep this in mind, that once you cancel the direct debit account, you will be charged with the tariff rates without the discount for direct debit payments, so you may be billed more than you expect.

A breakdown of the price cuts from the five of the “big six” energy suppliers has been mentioned here:

Energy Price Cuts

British Gas
Price Cut: 10% gas, from 19 February
Savings: Cutting the average annual gas fuel bill by 10% to £793

EDF
Price Cut: 8.8% electricity, from 31 March
Saving: Reduction of £40 on the average dual fuel bill

Scottish and Southern Energy
Price Cut: 4% gas and 9% electricity, from 30 March
Saving: Reduction of £66 on the average dual fuel bill

EON
Price Cut: 9% electricity, from 31 March
Saving: Reduction of £44 on the average dual fuel bill

Scottish Power
Price Cut: 7.5% gas and 3% electricity, from 31 March
Saving: Reduction of £54 on the average dual fuel bill

npower
Yet nPower has not announced any reductions. Although, npower might be considered as the cheapest supplier for a few households.

Compare energy prices
The simplest way to find out the amount of money you can save by switching to a cheaper supplier is by comparing prices by using our online energy comparison service.

cheapest energy supplier is dependent on the following things:
~ Place where you reside
~ Amount of energy you use
~ The nature of your tariff
~ Mode of bill payment

You can easily compare energy prices with the help of our energy calculator. You just need to ask your existing supplier for providing you details regarding your existing annual kWh usage (energy consumption). Enter these details online. You can also enter the number of bedrooms of your property into the calculator in case you do not have details regarding your energy consumption. Rest will be done by us. We will compare prices for you and tell you the amount of money you can save by switching.

Switching Suppliers
You can save up to £1,941* on your annual gas and electricity bills by switching energy suppliers. The amount you save is dependent on various factors. These include who is you current supplier, medium of paying the bill and to whom you are planning to switch to.

If you are not trapped into a fixed price tariff then it is very easy to switch suppliers. You can switch anytime without spending a penny over it.

After comparing prices, if you feel like switching the supplier then you can easily do it online by using our energy switching service. You just need to fill some necessary details. Rest will be done by us. Then we’ll notify your old as well as new supplier of the switch. This entire procedure will take around four to eight weeks.

Inflated energy bills is a genuine concern that is giving sleepless nights to many energy users. Winters are approaching and the energy prices are soaring high. This clearly indicates that this season, the hefty energy bills will certainly run a chill down your spine.

Though we can't do much about the energy prices, but what we can do to control our energy bills is certainly a matter to be considered. Few simple tips can help you cut down your energy usage and hence lead to saving money on your energy bills

Choose direct debit method to pay energy bills
Paying energy bills through direct debit method is one of the most effective and easy modes of payment. This is due to the fact that energy suppliers offer hefty discounts to the users who choose to pay their bills via Direct Debit.

This is because the energy suppliers believe that the direct debit payments are cheaper to process than any other modes of payment like cash and cheques. Besides this, suppliers also prefer this method as this way their payment is guaranteed.

It has also been reported recently that Ofgem has censured the energy suppliers for offering whopping discounts to direct debit customers as compared to other customers. They called it unfair and said it seems that customers who are unable to pay by direct method are penalized for the same.

BBC has also divulged that the average annual bill for households on prepayment meters was £118 higher than those who pay by direct debit. Talking about the customers who pay via cash and cheques each quarter – standard credit, the amount paid extra comes out to be about £80 a year more than those on direct debit.

Although the discounts in direct debit mode of payments are not available throughout the year but still it is a good way of saving money as and when its there.

Pay bills via paperless means
Paying bills via internet saves you from the hassle of paper bills. On signing up for the paperless bills one can cut down on the cost of the bills and hence end up paying less for the energy consumed.

If you choose to pay your bills via internet, you will not receive monthly or quarterly paper bills. Instead you you’ll take your own meter readings and enter them online. On the basis of that the supplier will generate your bill and send you the same via mail on the internet. On receiving the e-bill, you can double check your bill amount and rectify the same in case of any discrepancies. Paperless bills also offer you a chance of tracking direct debit payment details and pay your bill, if you’re not a direct debit customer online.

The suppliers charge you less on your energy bills paid through this means because on managing your account yourself you will end up saving suppliers money on administrative costs such as postage and paper as well as technicians deployed to read the meter – savings. This benefits are eventually passed on to you.

Paying energy bills through this way also means you’ll eliminate the risk of over-paying on estimated bills, and it’s also a good tool for environment protection.

Switch suppliers to reduce bills
Switching energy suppliers is a common and effective way of pruning the energy bills. It is always advisable to keep a track of your current energy tariffs and compare them with the tariffs offered by the other energy suppliers. In an instance of more energy bills payment, one can switch to the supplier who offers energy at lower prices. This practice can save plenty of money that would otherwise be wasted in paying inappropriate bills.

To avail the best of savings, it is recommended to take both gas and electricity from one supplier. This offers a benefit of dual fuel discounts.

If you see any anticipate any chances of energy prices increase in th future, you may protect yourself by choosing the fixed price energy tariff. Fixed price tariffs ensure constant prices even in the instance of increased fuel prices in the future. The fixed price tariff can be availed for one to three years. This also saves a lot of money.

It is always advisable to explore a number of energy plans from different energy suppliers before singling out anyone. Choose the plan that charges the lowest tariff and remember that he price you will pay for gas and electricity depends on where you live.

Keep comparing your current energy plan with the other plans offered by different energy suppliers. On finding the cheapest plan, switch the supplier. Switching is easy and does not take much of the efforts. You can register for the new energy via online by filling in some vital personal details.

On registering, the entire process will take around four to six weeks for your switch to take place. On approval by the supplier, you will get a letter from your new supplier notifying when the switch will happen. Your old supplier will send you your final bill and thereon you’ll only receive bills from your new energy supplier.

Save Energy, save money
Energy is a valuable resource, saving on which will lead you to save on your energy bills. To save energy one needs to consume it effectively and avoid wastage as much as possible. Here are few of the efficient energy saving tips, following will certainly be beneficial for you -

a. Do you know that one can lose up to 35% of the heat from the walls of the house and up to 25% from the roof. To avoid this one should resort to cavity wall insulation and loft insulation that prevents energy loss.
b. It is always advisable to turn off the electrical appliance when they are not in use, instead of leaving them on standby mode.
c. To save gas it is recommended to cook food while keeping the lid on the sauce pan. Using a microwave for cooking consumes lesser energy than using a Oven.
d. Never leave the door of the freezer or fridge open for prolonged period. Do not keep hot food in the fridge, wait till the food cools down and then place it into the fridge. Also defrost the fridge and freezers at regular intervals of time.
e. Do not overheat the house, this wastes a lot of energy. Turn down the thermostat as soon as the room temperature reaches the desired level. If the room is too hot then do not open the windows to normalize the temperature instead turn down the thermostat for some time.
f. Do not overheat the bathing water. It is also advisable to set the thermostat of the hot water cylinder to 60 degree Celsius. You can also acquire a lagging jacket to cover the cylinder as it prevents loss of energy.
g. To save electricity do turn to less energy consuming lighting bulbs than ordinary lighting devices. This may cost you more as you buy them but saves lot of energy and money in the long run
h. You can also avail the 'Economy 7' energy tariff plan to save money. The plan offers different energy consumption rates at different times in the day. Energy consumed at night is generally priced less than the energy consumed during the day. This allows you to heat your water and storage heater during the night. But you need to be watchful as to make a saving, you need to use 20% of your heat consumption during the night.
i. In order to eliminate energy loss via the exterior doors, gaps in floorboards and skirting boards use an easy-to-fix brush or PVC seal. This will prevent energy loss and saves money.
All the utility saving tips mentioned above are genuinely effective and will make a lot of difference in your energy bills. These are basic and easy to execute tips, if one is watchful and willing to save money.

Check if you are entitled to get any grants
To help the users in securing rebates on the energy bills, the UK Government offers a number of schemes and grants. These are quite effective and save users a lot of money that would otherwise go in making payments of energy bills. Energy suppliers rise the energy prices left, right and center. To cope up with the increased prices and to keep the homes warm even in this scenario, it is always advisable to look whether you are eligible for any heating grants and avail them as and when required.

The UK Government under the name of 'Warm Front' offers schemes on energy, providing grants of up to £2,700 or £4,000 if oil central heating is recommended to households that face difficulty in bearing the whopping energy bills. The measure was taken in a bid to improve the heating, insulation and energy efficiency of these households.

To avail these grants, one can check the details in the warm front website (www.warmfront.co.uk).and go through their eligibility criteria. The website issues certain conditions, fulfilling which make the users eligible for certain lucrative grants. These are-

- Be aged 60 years or over and in receipt of an income related benefit (for example Income Support, Council Tax Benefit or Pension Credit)
- Have a child under 16 (or be pregnant with maternity certificate MAT-B1) and be in receipt of a designated income related benefit or tax credit.
- Be in receipt of a designated disability related benefit or Disabled Person’s Tax Credit.
On finding yourself fitting in to any of these categories, you can apply for grants. The grant can provide a package of heating and insulation improvements, including gas, electric or oil central heating (with a combination boiler, up to five radiators and all valves and pipework), as well as energy efficiency advice.

It was really a smart action that you switched to the fixed plan of the Scottish Power. Now, after finishing your fixed deal, you should compare the prices of energy and make sure that you can switch again. You should select the cheapest tariff that meets the requirement of your household. If you do not switch again, the all the profit you gained last summer will be lost and you will have to pay high bills.

All the top six energy suppliers have their standard plans. If you do not change the supplier as soon as your deal completes, Scottish Power will automatically provide you the standard plan. Due to this, you will have to pay most expensive prices.

As per the recent figures, the standard tariff of Scottish Power is £300 higher as compared to the cheapest tariff for an average family.

Therefore, it will be beneficial for you if you compare the prices of gas and electricity and then take the decision.

If you do not have idea when the period of your energy plan is going to finish then you should immediately contact to your supplier, otherwise, your supplier will revert you on standard plan, and you will have to pay unnecessary bills. Some of the popular fixed plans which are going to be finished soon are as under:

Energy Supplier	Tariff	End Date
npower	One Tariff	31/07/09
Scottish Power	Fixed Price 2009	31/08/09
EDF	Price Freeze 2009	30/09/09
Scottish Power	Fixed Price Energy Oct 2009	30/09/09
E.ON	Price Protection v16	01/10/09
E.ON	Price Protection v17	01/10/09

As per the provision, your supplier should inform you when your energy is going to end. But, for the safe side, you should compare the price and should get the best suited tariff plan. If your fixed energy deal is going to be completed soon, then subscribing for other one may be a good option, but it is not necessary to take this money saving step at the moment.

Changes in the prices of gas and electricity are very often. Special offers are being offered by the suppliers to the users. Recently, 3.3% of standard price was decreased by E. ON. It will effect on energy bills up to 25%. According to some experts, there are the chances of more reduction in the coming summer.

By keeping this in mind, you can take the decision that you have no need to change to other fixed rate. The variable rate gas and electricity plans are cheaper as compared to the fixed plans. At present, variable rate cheapest deals are the most inexpensive energy tariffs.

Currently, Websaver 4 for British gas is offering the cheapest plans to the users. These plans let you manage gas and electricity bills by submitting the meter readings on Internet and pay by monthly direct debit (£6,000 in case of oil central heating).

Unluckily, the E. ON is within the right to raise its direct debit payment. You are suggested to contact your energy suppliers, on the customer care number of E. ON, i.e., 0845 059 9905. On contacting you supplier, you can apply for the financial help for the energy bills. For future, make sure to use your Economic 7 plan carefully. You can also switch to a social tariff. Some of the suggestions in this regard are given below:

Warm Front scheme
If you are above the age of 60, the help can be taken from government also. In UK, Warm Front schemes is available to fund the users. The aforesaid scheme allows the low income families to get insulation and heating improvements at up to the rate of £3500. This government funded amount is available to home-owners as well as to those who rent from private landlords.

Economy 7 Tariff
Economy 7 tariffs are one of the best options to save the expenses of the customers. Although there is a little drawback. If this plan is not used properly, then you can stuck in bigger bills.

With the help of these plans, you are charged less for seven hours in the night in the same way, as you have to pay less for your call charges in off-peak hours.

Under these schemes, in day time, you are charged more expensively. So if you do not manage properly, then you may receive higher bills as compared to those who use standard plans.

Social Tariff
Two social tariff are offered by E. ON – Age Concern and StayWarm. These schemes are meant for elderly and vulnerable. E. ON staywarm is for the people who are over the age of 60 and have three bedrooms or less. In order to pay by direct debit, you must have to subscribe both gas and electricity from E. ON. Under these plans, fixed energy prices of 12 months are got by customers on signing up. On the other hand, free energy efficiency is provided to the customers. Customers can also get the deals on home insulation.

Other Benefits
Some other benefits to the people over 60 years of age Cold weather payment of £10 for all the gas consumers can be given. Moreover, additional amount can be received the people aged 60 or above. It is given on the bases of the number of days when temperature remains very low (between December to February). Some other benefits include year’s free supply of carbon monoxide detectors, a free early warning hypothermia thermometer, four free energy saving light bulbs, free UK customer service helpline, free energy efficiency advice and offers of discounted energy saving measures.

I completely agree with you as it is not easy to tell who is the cheapest supplier because the energy market is very confusing. Below mentioned is a simple guide which will help you to compare the energy prices and to choose the cheapest tariff for yourself.

Comparing energy prices
One of the quickest as well as the fastest way to find out the amount of money you can save by switching to a cheaper supplier is by comparing prices with the help of our online energy comparison service.

The cheapest energy supplier is dependent on the following factors:

1. Place where you live
2. Amount of energy used by you
3. The nature of your tariff
4. Mode of payment

For the purpose of comparing energy prices with the help of our energy calculator, you need to ask your current supplier to provide you all the necessary details regarding the current annual kWh usage (energy consumption). Once you receive the details, you need to enter these online. In case your current supplier is unable to provide you the details then you can also enter the number of bedrooms of your property into the calculator. Once you completed that, we will then compare prices for you thus showing you the amount of money you can save by switching. You could save up to £1,941* by switching.

Energy price cuts
Price cuts declared by the “big six” energy suppliers are given below:

British Gas
Price Cut: 10% gas, from 19 February
Savings:Cutting the average annual gas fuel bill by 10% to £793

EDF
Price Cut: 8.8% electricity, from 31 March
Savings:Reduction of £40 on the average dual fuel bill

Scottish Power
Price Cut: 7.5% gas and 3% electricity, from 31 March
Savings:Reduction of £54 on the average dual fuel bill

Scottish and Southern Energy
Price Cut: 4% gas and 9% electricity, from 30 March
Savings:Reduction of £66 on the average dual fuel bill

E.ON
Price Cut: 9% electricity, from 31 March
Savings:Reduction of £44 on the average dual fuel bill

nPower has not yet announced any kind of reductions. According to the experts, a second round of cuts will take place later in the year.

In order to stay informed regarding any cuts or price hikes, you should sign up to our energy news RSS feed.

The cheapest energy tariffs
The customers who sign up for an online tariff and pay their bills by monthly direct debit are provided with cheapest energy tariffs. Discounts are offered by most of the suppliers to the customers with dual fuel (both gas and electricity from the same supplier). You should provide the meter readings because the estimated readings can be incorrect in some cases. Also you’ll pay more for a meter reader for visiting your home.

In order to get more information, you can read our guide on how to save money on your energy tariff.

Reducing your energy bills
Because of the recent energy price cuts, people are confused whether to switch the energy suppliers or not. They are eagerly waiting to bring down the cost of their energy bills.

Apart from switching the energy suppliers, you can do a variety of things for saving your money. Purchasing energy efficient light bulbs and switching off your appliances when not in use are few simple actions that can reduce your energy consumption. You can go through our guide for more tips on saving money on energy bills.

You can also download our free guide to energy efficiency for getting more information on cutting down your energy bills.

Finding the best tariff and an energy supplier is not the easiest of jobs. Below are the required information for standing charges.

Definition of standing charge
Customers might be paying a fixed amount every day to the energy suppliers for their services. This fixed cost is called a standing charge. It’s analogous to a connection fee that does not include any cost for the actual energy consumed.

What is the purpose of standing charges?
Standing charges account for certain cost of the energy suppliers. These include meter reading, maintaining good quality and the cost of maintaining network connections.

For the gas energy, these charges also include the services of emergency gas supplies.

What is the significance of not having a standing charge?
In case customer is not paying any standing charge on the bill, two different costs get attached to the price of gas and/or electricity. This is called a “two tier tariff” and in increases the cost of initial fixed units of energy. The price for subsequent units reduces.

As an example, the British Gas might charge first 1400 units used each quarter at 2.5 pence per unit and the price may increase to 1.5 pence for each unit used thereafter.

Some energy suppliers prefer standing charges and insist customers to opt for it. While others offer customers the freedom to choose. For example, the Scottish Power provides no such option to go for Standing Charge. This means that the energy supplier doesn’t take a daily fee for its services and bills are calculated only on the energy unit rates.

Whether to opt for standing charge or not?
Standing charge means payment of flat rate for both the supply and the power that customers use. On the other hand, tariffs not including a standing charge covers cost in the per unit prices. Therefore users pay the extra cost in the initial units instead of paying the standing charge.

Standing charge tariff should be discouraged by those who leave their houses vacant for long periods. This is because the standing charges are fixed cost which need to be paid even without using any energy.

Suggestions
It's better to opt for tariffs not containing any standing charge and rather go for an online tariff. It enables users maximum savings by providing option to make monthly direct debit energy payments.

Tariffs including a standing charge avoids two tier rates which make them appear cheaper. But, the additional cost paid as daily standing charge covers this and implies that bills include cost for energy customer never actually used.

While opting for a two tier system means the payments is made for actual energy that is consumed. This allows users to save money.

Carbon footprint is the amount of CO2 that enters the atmosphere due to the use of electricity and fuel we use, and it is measured in tonnes of CO2.

This carbon footprint depends on various factors like

1. the amount of energy we use to heat our home!
2. number of electronic devices we use!
3. type of transport we use!
4. how often we fly!

Calculating this carbon footprint is quite easy, one can easily estimate the amount by using the Energy Saving Trust's online calculator, the carbon cutter. By just entering the details about home, travel and appliances, an individual can calculate it comfortably. The calculator will automatically estimate how many tonnes of CO2 we produce each year.

There are plenty of methods to reduce the amount of CO2 we produce. Some are as simple as turning off the appliances not in use, and walking to our work places instead of using vehicles.

Few tips for this purpose are

1. Instead of tumble drying, one should hang out the washing to dry.
2. In a single trip, a person should do his weekly shopping.
3. To save water, electricity and washing powder, an individual should fill washing machine and dish washer with a full load.
4. Boil as much water as needed.
5. After charging the batteries, unplug the mobile phone chargers.

Switching over to a green energy tariff, should also be considered by us. Although the energy we use is not coming from any wind farm or solar panel, but still if we sign up to one of these tariffs, then supplier will provide the national grid with renewal energy. And the national grid will then supply our home. Many energy suppliers are now offering some sort of green tariff that cost no more than a standard dual fuel tariff. Green energy tariffs are the best ways to protect our environment from the damage caused by gas and electricity usage.

Reducing the energy bills is interesting and beneficial thing. Reducing the carbon footprint means an effective reduction in the amount of energy used by us, so indirectly it will help lower the energy bills. There are numerous ways to reduce our carbon footprint and get the energy bills down. These are:

1. By using energy saving light bulbs instead of normal bulbs.
2. By insulating our loft, walls and hot water tank.
3. By defrosting freezers regularly.
4. By using energy efficient appliances.
5. And by estimating the total amount of energy used by our appliances to manage them well.

Owing money to the current supplier, gives right to him to stop you from switching. And he can force you to pay the debt before moving on to a cheaper provider. And in case, if you are paying your energy bills by monthly direct debit, then the supplier can automatically take the outstanding balance from your account while switching.

You should contact your energy provider, if you are struggling to pay your energy bills, to explain your situation. They might switch you to a social tariff, which is a payment plan specially designed for vulnerable and struggling customers. Or they can install a prepayment meter, but these are often more expensive in the long term.

To switch energy supplier
While switching energy suppliers, we could save as much as £200 on our household gas and electricity bills. But it depends on various factors, which include the current supplier, the payment mode, and the new supplier we are switching to. If a person is not bound to a fixed price tariff, then he can switch to different suppliers as often as he wants, without paying a single penny.

In case, an individual has a fixed price energy tariff, and wants to switch before the specific time period then he has to pay the cancellation fee. But this amount will be lesser than the amount one would save by switching, therefore it is important to work out the difference. As a precautionary measure, an individual must read the terms and conditions of a contract, no matter whether he is engaged with fixed deal or not.

Shun estimated energy bills
We should avoid estimated billing, to make sure that we are not underpaying for gas and electricity. Due to this underpaying, an individual might be building up a huge debt that he is unaware of until it becomes significant. On the other hand, if the current bills are estimated, then one should consider signing up to paperless billing. Paperless billing means there are no paper bills, instead an individual can manage his account online.

This kind of online management of bills, help to save suppliers money on administration costs such as paper & postage, and meter readers as well. And these savings are indirectly passed on to the customers. It also helps to eliminate the risk of over paying or underpaying on estimated bills.

Reduce energy bills
Many people are finding themselves confronted with energy price hikes, and are worried about high energy bills. Although switching providers is one of the easiest ways of reducing energy bills, in case of fixed price energy plan it may not be possible. On the other hand there are other simple methods such as buying energy saving light bulbs that will help to cut the energy bills.

Customer service issue in recent times has emerged as one of the key issues among energy users especially when it comes to the question of choosing or of switching over to which big six energy service felicitators in order to enjoy the best energy deal. In the recent held survey conducted by the energy regulator Ofgem, it indicates serious lapses in the way of handling issues regarding the energy supply or availing other useful deals or the features provided by the six major energy providers. The below drawn table can emerged of great help for the customers to fix their issues with respective energy provider. In the table the name of energy suppliers with their call center locations and the contact numbers are provided which will obviously help users to ultimately decide to take the service of which energy provider.

Energy Supplier	Call Centre Location	Contact Number
British Gas	Southampton, Leeds, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Manchester	0800 048 0202
Scottish & Southern	Perth	0845 7444 555
Npower	County Durham, Thornaby, Tyne and Wear	0845 071 4525
E.ON	Essex, Leicester, Bedford, Nottingham and Bolton	0845 059 9905
EDF	Hove, Sunderland, Exeter	0800 096 9000
Scottish Power	Glasgow and Warrington	0845 2700 700

Hope this goes some way to helping users to decide they should go for which energy supplier.

The Energy Distribution Map appears to be of great help that will serve as the best guide for the energy users. The especially designed energy distribution map is divided into 14 distribution areas which is indicated by the different colors. Each area is owned by a specific energy suplier which can be easily understood with the help of below mentioned energy distribution map. Npower, E.ON, Scottish Power, EDF and Southern Energy are some of the pioneer names of this energy distribution segment.

The map below shows which supplier owns which region, and also shows how the country is divided into the different distribution areas.

Note: Energy Distribution Map will be worth mentioning over here.

A user before availing any energy package should compare energy prices offered by his area energy distributor and emphatically make it sure that he switches to a tariff that’s going to suit his usage and save his money.

The map which is mentioned above will definitely help users to know that his area comes under which incumbent energy supplier. Therefore, when a supplier introduces a new cheaper tariff , it is available only in certain areas. Now, with the help of energy distribution map users will easily come to know whether he can avail that offered benefits or not.