One of the simplest ways to save some cash is to regularly change energy supplier. But is the juice really worth the squeeze?
We're all about pointing you in the right direction towards saving money and one of the best ways to save on your energy costs is to switch gas and electricity supplier regularly.
However many are daunted by the process. So we want to lift the veil and let you know just how easy it is for you to switch and save.
So here we go...
The way the industry works
Most of Ireland’s energy suppliers put the majority of their energy (pun intended!) into hooking up new customers by giving them the cheapest deal. So why not use this to your advantage?
Nearly every supplier will give you either cashback (sometimes as much as €175) or a discount (sometimes over 30%) if you switch to them. Pretty nice, right?
But those discounts usually expire after 12 months. And what happens then? You’re bumped on to the supplier’s “standard prices”, which basically means their top price, with no discount applied.
And this is what you want to avoid.
Once you get moved onto a standard rate with your supplier, you should immediately do one of two things:
- Call your supplier and ask them to extend your discount for another year and hope they will, or
- Switch to a new supplier - whichever one is offering the best discount to new customers
It may seem like a pain to do this every year, but a short phone call or visit to bonkers.ie and you might be able to save yourself some serious cash.
What do I need to switch energy supplier?
You need four pieces of information to switch energy supplier:
- Your MPRN number - this is an 11-digit figure written on your electricity bill
- Your GPRN number - a seven-digit number on your gas bill
- A recent meter reading - if you need a meter key just let us know and we'll send one out to you
- It’s also helpful to have an idea of how much energy you use in a year either in kWh or in euro
You can get a better estimate of expected savings if you also know the name of your existing plan so it’s useful to have that to hand when switching as well. You can find this on a recent bill or by contacting your supplier.
How do I switch gas and electricity supplier?
With your MPRN, GPRN and recent meter reading to hand, use our energy price comparison calculator and follow the simple steps below. It’ll take you no more than a couple of minutes to switch.
- Tell us the name of your existing price plan. You can find this on a recent bill or by contacting your existing supplier.
- Give us a good estimate of how much energy you use in a year, either in euro or kWh. This helps us give you the most accurate results.
- You’ll then be presented with a list of all of the deals available to you, presented in order of total price. And by total price, we mean total price - including all of the additional fees and taxes that get tagged on to energy bills.
- Choose your new energy provider.
- Enter a few personal and banking details, along with a recent meter reading...and that’s it.
Your new supplier will begin processing your switch and you’ll be up and running in no time. And don’t worry, your supply won’t be affected in any way during the switchover process. Energy suppliers do this type of thing every day.
How much will I save by switching?
The amount you’ll save by switching depends on your existing plan, your consumption habits and what offers are available at the time of switching.
If you use an average amount of energy (that’s 11,000 kWh for gas and 4,200 kWh for electricity), you should save somewhere between €250 and €350 if you’re switching from standard rates to the cheapest deal on the market.
If you use more energy than the average household, you’ll probably save a good bit more than that.
How often should I switch supplier?
The general rule of thumb is to switch supplier every year to make sure you’re always getting the best deal available.
That being said, more and more suppliers are offering good retention deals to customers to keep them sweet for an extra year or two but these tend not to be as competitive as the deals a new customer will be offered.
Is it better to switch to a dual fuel deal or to separate gas and electricity suppliers?
It is usually a bit cheaper to get your gas and electricity from separate suppliers.
However, you might like the convenience of only dealing with one supplier for both fuels. It all depends on how much you value the efficiency of getting one bill every month, as opposed to two.
Get switching
The easiest money you'll ever earn is the money that you've saved as they say. And who wouldn't like some extra hard-earned cash in their pocket?
So take the bonkers.ie Switching Challenge and start switching and saving today.
