New. MSE Big Energy Switch Event 11

To beat the bill hike triple-whammy, we've 30,000 cheaper-than-the-cheapest LONG fixes - save £280, price protected for two winters. Yet they'll likely go quick.

A message from Martin: Brace yourself. Energy bills are being hit by a triple whammy on the back of oil price rises. To help we've launched two MSE collective switches. But first, here's the problem...
1) Four Big 6 firms have hiked prices for the 2nd time this year. Brit Gas's & Scot Power's will hit in the next few weeks.
2) Many of the cheapest switchers' deals are being pulled, and replaced by far more expensive ones. Eg, the cheapest 1yr fix on 10 Aug was £867/yr based on typical usage, now it's £938.
3) There's the Stark warning that "winter is coming" - so use rises as a trigger to act.

So ensure you're on your cheapest tariff, delaying risks paying more.

Over the last few weeks, the team has been pushing providers to lower prices for our 11th special MSE deal (including improved service). Yet with rapidly rising prices none would cut their short-term fixes, so we focused on deals that let you lock in a rate for longer, securing cheap two-winter fixes, substantially cheaper than the market's cheapest. But we've only 30,000 available. It may sound a lot, but in past years you've snapped up that many in less than a week. 

And sorting your energy bills can mean big savings, as Peter tweeted: "Thanks @MartinSLewis after hearing you advise many times to switch energy providers, I finally got my finger out and have just saved £807/yr in 5 minutes." Over to the team to run th rough the deals...

The predictions are price rises will continue. If so, locking in to a longer cheap fix will be a winner, as the rate you pay is certain not to rise. It also means you'll need to switch less often.  

The price & saving we list is based on 'typical use', which for a big 6 standard tariff averages £1,221/yr.  As your exact saving & cheapest depends on usage & location, all our links take you via a comparison.

• MSE Winner 1: Green Network Energy 18mth fix - only 15,000 avail. Avg price (inc MSE cashback): £962/yr. Saving: £280  (over the 18 months). Service rating: 61% great (but only 36 votes) and 7.7/10 of 890 reviews on Trustpilot. 
  
  The GNE MSE 18mth fixed exclusive locks in the price until c. March 2020, so you get two winters' peace of mind. It's only £24/yr more than the cheapest 1yr fix, so the extra protection comes cheaply. And it's a whopping £63/yr cheaper than the open market's cheapest long fix (though that's 2 years).  
  
  The firm is a relative newcomer to the UK, backed by a large Italian firm (don't confuse it with our past collective winner Green Star). We have arranged enhanced customer service for this deal, so basically if it doesn't sort the problem we can get involved.
  
  

  To see how it compares, use our Energy Club long-fix comparison (untick the 'long fix' filter to see other options). Here's further info...

  - It's for new custs, paying by monthly direct debit, on paperless bills.
  - There are early exit fees of £25/fuel (so £50 dual fuel).
  - It's not portable, so you can't take it with you if you move.
  - It's for dual fuel (ie, gas & elec), elec-only but NOT gas-only.
  
  
• MSE Winner 2: Avro 18mth fix - top customer service rating - only 15,000 available. Avg price (inc MSE cashback): £983/yr. Saving: £250 (over the 18 months). Service rating: 66% great (217 votes) and 9.1/10 of 7,800 reviews on Trustpilot.  
  
  Avro Energy's Simple and MSE collective is similar to GNE, but a little costlier, though still far cheaper than any other long fix. We went for two tariffs, both so there's bigger capacity and also as this is a bigger (500,000 customers) company, which has been around longer and has a much stronger customer service rating.
  
  To see how it compares, use our Energy Club long-fix comparison (untick the 'long fix' filter to see other options). Here's further info...
  
  - It's for new & existing customers getting both gas & elec (ie, dual fuel) paying by monthly direct debit & getting paperless bills.
  - To be eligible, you must have signed up to receive our weekly email or be a member of our Cheap Energy Club - and use the email you have for either. 
  - There are dual fuel exit fees of £60.  
  - It's due to end at 10pm on 9 Oct or when all 15,000 switches go, whichever's sooner. 
  - It's not portable, so you can't take it with you if you move. 

You can get a lower annual price than our collective winners, but the price surety doesn't last as long. So here's our rundown of the key deals based on price, type (ie, fixed or variable) service & whether you've heard of them.

• THE CHEAPEST: Outfox the Market, but it's variable (so prices could and likely will rise as we're seeing with other variables now). Avg price £859/yr - no exit fees. It is a newish small provider (but the limited feedback we've had is decent). The issue here is it's variable, so you've no price certainty - not good in a rising price environment, though currently it's very cheap.  
  
  To see its price and the other cheap variable deals for you, do an Energy Club full market comparison.
  
  
• CHEAPEST 1YR FIX: One Select - new firm, little feedback. Avg price: £938/yr - no exit fees. It currently tops the table for cheapest tariffs among those where you know the rate won't increase. Yet it's small, newish, and the little feedback we have is OK (but not great), though one advantage is no early exit fees. There are also a few small regional suppliers which can be cheaper in some areas.
  
  Your exact winner depends on use & region, so to see do an Energy Club cheap fix comparison (untick the 'cheap fix' filter to see other options).
   
• CHEAPEST 1YR FIX WITH TOP SERVICE: Avro. Avg price (including MSE cashback) £962/yr - no exit fees. As we explained above, Avro has regularly been up there for customer service. It has a cheap 1yr tariff too, though you only typically pay £21/yr more to lock in for an extra winter with it using our collective. However, its 1yr fix has no exit fees giving greater flexibility.
  
  Your exact winner depends on use & region, so to see do an Energy Club superb service comparison (untick the 'superb service' filter to see other options).
  
  
• URGENT. CHEAPEST BIG NAME 1YR FIXES: You've told us before your biggest switching turn-off is tiddler firms you've never heard of. Right now there are a couple of rare Big 6 deals which are cheap - and even let existing customers switch to them too - but one's about to be pulled. 
  
  - Ends midday-ish Wed. E.on. Avg price (incl MSE cashback) £971/yr - £30/fuel exit fees. 
  - British Gas. Avg price (incl MSE cashback) £995/yr - £30/fuel exit fees. Plus most homeowners get £50 1yr boiler cover thrown in.
  
  To see which is your cheapest biggie, use our Energy Club big name provider comparison (untick the filter to see more options).
  
  
• SWITCH WITHOUT SWITCHING. If you don't want to switch, at least move off your firm's hideously expensive standard tariff to its cheapest deal (same energy, same service, same safety, cheaper price), eg, the rare, cheap British Gas deal above that's open to existing customers.
  
  To find your current firm's cheapest, use our Energy Club my current supplier comparison (untick the filter to see more options).

You can still switch and save...

- Prepay customers: Try our prepay comparison - savings are smaller, typically £130/yr, but it could still be worth doing. For bigger savings, see if you can switch to a credit meter. See cut prepay energy costs.

- Northern Ireland: Our Energy Club, like all UK comparison sites, does not currently include Northern Ireland, but you can do a comparison via Cheap NI Electricity or the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland's tool.

For more, see the full Cheap Energy Club FAQs.

Q.  Hold on, I thought there was a price cap coming in? The regulator Ofgem is introducing a cap on standard prices by the end of the year, currently planned to be £1,136/yr for someone with typical use. Ofgem calls this a 'fair' price, but that doesn't mean it is a 'good' price - plus the cap is reviewed every 6 months, and we suspect it will rise then.

As the cap will reduce the standard tariff costs, where we've listed 'savings' above, we've assumed those prices will drop to the cap when it launches (and the cap will remain at that level). However, because it's not 100% confirmed we cannot alter the Cheap Energy Club predicted prices, they'll still be based on current standard prices. 

Q. What info do I need to switch? It's best if you have a bill, and input kilowatt hours (kWh) into the Cheap Energy Club, rather than cost. But don't worry if you don't know your usage, the tool can guesstimate for you. While the answer won't be perfect, the sin of inaction is bigger than the sin of inaccuracy. 

Q. Does MSE make money from this? Yes. Like all energy comparison sites, we're paid each time you switch through us, yet we give you about half (that's what the cashback is - money you don't get if you go direct), so it's a win-win. The rest helps cover our costs and hopefully makes us some profit.

Q. How does Cheap Energy Club work? It does three things:
1) We compare ALL market tariffs to show your price and saving.
2) You get £25 dual-fuel cashback (£12.50 single fuel) if we can switch you. It's paid roughly 90 days later.
3) We monitor for better deals. You set a 'trigger saving', eg, £150/yr, then we alert you if you can save this by switching again.

And lots more help, incl...

Switching with smart meters | why's price risen when I'm fixed? | reclaim credit | switching in debt help | switching if I've solar panels | how direct debits are set | I've an independent gas transporter - can I switch? | can I pick a switch date? | how do you compare my rates?