No one likes to think about energy bills in the summer, but if you take just a few minutes to pre-emptively switch supplier now you could avoid big winter bills racking up when temperatures drop.
It’s July and summer is pretty much in full swing (as far as Irish summers go). The weather, if not consistently sunny, is warmer and the sun is now setting well into the evenings giving us nice long days. All of this means one welcome thing in terms of your household energy usage - lower bills.
As temperatures rise we turn the heating off, we spend less time indoors guzzling energy and the longer evenings mean we don’t need to turn on the lights until 10 at night.
And although the Covid-19 pandemic means more of us are working from home, leading to slightly higher energy bills this summer than usual, it's fair to say energy bills are generally a low priority (if not the last thing on our minds!) right now.
But wouldn’t it be great if you could pre-empt those nasty shock bills that invariably come after summer when the cold weather creeps back in?
The good news is you can! Read on for our three-step guide to find out how.
Step one: are you on the best deal?
Many of us are unaware that we could be saving a lot of money annually when it comes to our household energy needs. The last switching report from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) found that only 14% of electricity customers and 20% of gas customers switched supplier in 2018 - meaning that there are A LOT of us overpaying for energy despite there being some great deals out there.
Overpaying? How?
The answer is simple - most energy suppliers offer special year-long i.e. contract length discounted energy rates to new customers, that then revert to standard rates once the contract has finished. This means that if you've been with your energy supplier for quite a while (more than 12 months) there's a very good chance you could be paying quite a bit more than you have to.
In fact, you could make an average saving of almost €450 a year right now by switching your gas and electricity to the cheapest deal currently on the market. What's more there are now 13 energy suppliers to choose from so there has never been more choice and more competition among suppliers for new customers.
Why not compare your current plan against all the others on the market right now using our Energy Price Comparison service and see what you're missing out on? It's free, easy to use, and best of all, completely impartial.
Step two: switch now, save later
You might be thinking: “OK so I’m not on the best deal right now, but so what? As you just pointed out, it’s summer and I’m not using a lot of energy so my bill isn’t a huge concern for me right now.”
That might be the case, but if you think about it, by making the switch now you’ll be saving yourself down the line.
Quite often people make the switch at the end of the winter when they’re shocked into action by the big bills. But by that stage it’s too late as you’ve missed out on some of the best savings. The key is to switch just BEFORE your energy usage and bills begin to creep up again.
Step three: repeat next year
Remember to set a reminder to shop around every 12 months when your contract comes to an end. This way you’ll be sure that you are consistently getting the best deal!
Switching doesn’t have to be painful
Contrary to what you might expect, switching is actually a very easy process and will probably only take you as long to do as reading this article did! But if you have any questions or concerns on the process, take a look at this easy-to-understand FAQ guide for everything you need to know.
You can compare plans and find the best energy deal for you over on our Energy Price Comparison page right now.
