Ofgem’s recent price cap cut raises the possibility of a return to consumer choice in the energy market.
With no switching tariffs available to consumers for well over a year, the reduction in the price cap raises the possibility that consumers could soon be able to switch suppliers again if firms compete for business on the back of falling wholesale prices.
Which? Energy editor Emily Seymour said: “If prices start to stabilise, we may see some providers offering competitive fixed-price energy deals for the first time in well over a year, so it will be worth doing a bit of research to see if there’s a deal that could be cost-effective while also offering good customer service and low exit fees.”
Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert, said some customers signed up for “very high” fixed-rate deals last year as prices rocketed, which they should now consider leaving.
He said: “This time last year, with prices rocketing, some people took very high fixed-rate deals.
“Then the Government launched the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) and, for fairness, those whose fixes were more expensive than the EPG had their tariffs subsidised so they dropped to the same level.
“From July as the EPG subsidy will be set as zero, that subsidy will be removed and those fixes will return to their original price.
“For people on those fixes, it is worth considering switching to a price-capped standard tariff – possibly even if you need to pay exit fees.”
