When will consumers see the fall in energy prices?

With gas and electricity prices being so costly, consumers are very apprehensive and concerned about their energy bills for 2011. Find out how to reduce your energy bills and claim all you're owed.

With the recent demand from the energy regulator Ofgem for energy companies to commit to pass on falls in energy prices to consumers in 2011, a good deal of households are becoming frustrated and a little ticked off that we are not yet seeing these energy price cuts. At a time when the economic downturn is affecting every household, the lack of urgency from the energy suppliers will inevitably have a negative impact on lower income households and the more vulnerable.

Paying by Direct Debit: I thought it was a good thing.

There is a good chance that if you are paying by direct debit, that you are paying more than your actual energy consumption.

The fact is that what we use across the year varied from season to season and that consumers tend to use less throughout the Summer months than they do in Winter. The energy suppiers tend not to advice consumers of this fact though. Why would they? If they set a direct based on what they estimate our usage to be across the year. Bear in mind, suppliers make estimates that are designed to over charge - they are not going to run the risk of being financally exposed by under charging.

So even if your energy consumption is low and you are being charged based on a yearly inflated estimate, there is a good chance that you could be building up hundred of pounds of credit with your supplier - meaning that you are in essence giving them an interest free loan.

What is even more surprising, some energy suppliers have written to their customers who pay by standing order or direct debit demanding higher payments - irrespective of whether the customer is in credit or not.

How to protect us as consumers and pay less?

Pay a little more attention to your energy bills by reviewing your last 12 to 24 months bills. These are tougher times and the energy suppliers are not charitiable institutions. They will over charge if you allow them to. Rather have money in your bank accoun than in theirs.

Consider cancelling paying by direct debit and pay bills as they come in - usually on a quarterly basis. This can work well as long as you have taken the time to calculate your usage, although as most companies offer a small discount (typically 5%) to those paying by direct debit.

A more prudent method would be to calculate your energy consumption based on the previous 12 months bills and tell your supplier how much you will pay by direct debit based on this calculation. If you feel that you are not making enough contributions, place the shortfall in an instant access savings account and let it earn money in your account. It might not be much, but it's in your account not theirs.

Can I claim back your cash if I'm in credit?

Absolutely. As I mentioned earlier, just as energy suppiers are not charitable institutons, they are also not in the habit of issuing credits to their customers. Remember, even durng the current economic climate they are declaring profits in the millions - and in some cases billions. A good proportion of these profits come from the credits that they are holding on to and earning interest from.

So, if you've been with your energy supplier for over a year and making regular monthly payments, give them a call and find out how much you are in credit and ask for a cheque to be posted to you and put it in your bank account.

It’s a good time to look into how else you can be saving more money on energy bills..

Switch to a better gas and electricity deal with Saving More Money.