Get the best energy deals in the Southend-on-Sea postcode: SS1 area
There are many energy suppliers offering to supply homes and businesses in Southend-on-Sea, SS1 with gas and electricity, but who is the cheapest Gas and Electricity Supplier in Southend-on-Sea, and are they right one for you?
Understanding the different deals that they offer can be a confusing prospect, even when you use one of the many price comparison websites.
On face value, the cheapest gas and electricity supplier to Southend-on-Sea, may not be the most suitable for your needs, such as offering renewable energy deals for example.
The cost of fuel and energy varies by the usage and the area that it is being supplied into. These prices can vary quite considerably so it is always worth spending a little time checking with several energy suppliers to learn of the best, and most suitable deal for you.
Even using price comparison websites can return different results for the same supplier. This is because some energy companies may offer special deals to one price comparison website and not others.
The best advice would be to try two or three price comparison websites such as: Money Supermarket, U Switch, Compare the Market, Go Compare, Confused.com or the regulator Ofgem. It really doesn’t take long and from our experience you will find a better price for the same deal.
If you are thinking of switching your gas and electricity supplier in Southend-on-Sea, consider these following tips
There are several factors that you’ll want to think about before you switch energy supplier, or things to consider to help you make the right switch.
Price
Price and bad customer service experience are probably the main reasons why we all consider switching our energy supplier. With so many Gas and Electricity companies offering to supply your property in Southend-on-Sea and the SS1 area there are lots of deals available.
Basing your decision and comparing prices can be difficult and confusing, especially when you’re considering a dual fuel plan.
One supplier will offer a lower fuel cost for gas, but another offers a lower electricity cost.
The days of ‘loyalty to an energy company’ are long gone, so by choosing a combined duel fuel energy plan in most cases will give you the best value overall deal.
The online comparison tools offered by price comparison websites take into account all of the costs involved to give you an estimated cost total for the year, or month.
Be aware that if you don’t use a price comparison website you need to consider all of the costs that the energy supplier will include. Most of them charge a daily rate (also known as a standing charge) regardless of your energy usage and then a cost per kWh.
Energy Suppliers
Today we have emerging energy companies in the UK marketplace and this offers greater competition everywhere, not just in Southend-on-Sea or the SS1 area.
In the UK there are the ‘big 6’ who are: British Gas, NPOWER, EDF, Eon, ScottishPower, and SSE.
These remain the most popular suppliers and often do have great deals, but they are losing their market share to other emerging energy companies.
There are many of these emerging energy suppliers to Southend-on-Sea that can offer great deals and the following are just an example:
- Ovo Energy
- Shell Energy (previously First Utility)
- Octopus Energy
- Bulb Energy
Contract Length
If you choose a new deal, make sure you are content and happy with the contractual length as you’ll be tied into this deal for that length of time. In almost all cases you need to tie into a contract in order to get the best deals, this is often the case on the fixed rate deals.
We also recommend that you make a note somewhere to remind you to start shopping around for a new deal again when your contract is coming to an end. If you stay with an energy company when your contract has expired, they will automatically put you on a standard tariff, which is considerably a more expensive way to buy energy.
Fixed or Variable Tariff’s
There are different tariff types that you can be charged for your gas and electricity.
Fixed rate means that regardless of what’s happening the in industry or world or with energy prices, you’re going to be paying this fixed rate per kWh for your energy, for the duration of your contract.
Variable rate, means just that, it will vary during the contractual period. When energy prices increase due to supply fluctuations, world demand etc. the supplier will then pass these increases on to you, their customer.
But the opposite is also true and prices can decrease. When this happens, the energy supplier should reduce their unit rate per kWh for your energy.
However be aware that the time it takes to increase a variable price tariff is far quicker than the time that it takes to decrease it.
Renewable Energy
Once it was just a pipe dream, now it is a major influencer in people’s decisions to choose how they buy energy to their homes and workplaces.
Renewable electricity in the UK is now commonly generated in 6 different sources:
Early Exit Fees
These don’t tend to be a large cost, but it’s worth checking before you sign up for a new deal if there is an early exit penalty fee.
Should you find a better energy deal or have the need to cancel your energy contract, some deals come with a clause that means you need to pay an early exit fee.
In brief, if you cannot or do not want to take the energy contract to the end of the agreed end date, there could be an additional price to pay.
However if your energy deal has gone past the expiry date, you are free to move to another deal or supplier without paying any penalty.
Many of the price comparison websites do explain these points, but again depending on which site you use, the deal may vary slightly, so check each time before committing to a deal.
