New. British Gas 12% price CUT... yet you only get it if you ask for it

- The energy giant's launched new tariffs, far cheaper than its normal rate, for NEW and EXISTING customers 
- If willing to go elsewhere, you can cut your price by MUCH more

It's getting cold. Energy bills are getting bigger. And a surprise... British Gas has launched rare, far cheaper dual-fuel deals open to anyone who chooses to pay by direct debit. But existing customers don't get the British Gas tariffs automatically - you have to move to them, though there's a way to get paid to do it.

However, while they beat standard rates, you can save much, much more with other suppliers - and we think you should. Yet about 60% of people stick with their existing firm, so IF YOU'RE WITH BRITISH GAS AND WON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE, AT LEAST DO THIS. Switching savings can be huge... "Thanks @MartinSLewis - by comparing energy, I've just saved £50/mth (£600/yr) switching tariffs." But even if you stick, you can win, as Lisa did: "Saved £300/yr swit ching energy tariff, still with the same supplier." 

Of course, whichever your current supplier is, the challenge is picking what to do. So let's go through it, with bigger savings on each step...

Someone with typical usage on a British Gas standard tariff (as most with it are), pays £1,101/yr. Yet it's launched two far cheaper dual-fuel fixed tariffs, one under its British Gas brand, the other under its Sainsbury's brand (Sains Energy is just BG with a different name).

Which is cheapest depends on where you live (it's not avail in N. Ireland) and how much energy you use. To cut to the chase, use our special Cheap Energy Club 'My Current Supplier' comparison, which filters out all but British Gas's tariffs (assuming that's what you've told us you're on). It takes about 5 mins.

Plus, do it this way and you also get £25 MSE cashback which you don't get if you go direct to BG.

Reminder: While this will save you money, you can save far more moving elsewhere. When doing your comparison, click the other filters in the results and you'll see the scale of the savings. 

Here's quick info on the two new British Gas tariffs...

- They'll save you up to £130/yr on the BG standard price: Factoring in the cashback, BG costs a typical £970/yr, Sainsbury's £979/yr. 

 - They're fixed deals: With no rate hikes till Jan 2019 with BG, Nov 2018 with Sains (though what you pay changes with usage).

- These are dual-fuel deals: So you must get gas and elec.

- The BG deal (not Sains) requires you to have a FREE smart meter. Don't have a BG smart meter? You need to book installation by 31 July 2018. These send automatic readings, so you get exact bills and pay only for what you use. If you've another firm's smart meter, you might need to send regular manual readings when asked (as ridiculously different firms' meters aren't compatible), though you can ask for new BG meters if you want. Full info in our new Smart Meters guide.  

- You must sign up for (free) BG Rewards on the BG deal: It's part of the conditions, but this will earn you things like Sky Store movies.

- Both have £40 early exit fees if you leave before the fix ends.

- BG (not Sains) requires online management and paperless bills. 

While British Gas rarely has cheaper deals than its standard tariff, other Big 6 firms commonly do. Your firm's cheapest tariff for you depends on your usage and where you live, so use our Cheap Energy Club 'My Current Supplier' comparison to filter out all but your existing provider's tariffs (and sometimes get the £25 MSE cashback - £12.50 single-fuel).

For example, SSE's standard tariff is a typical £1,109/yr, yet it also offers a relatively cheap fix at £950/yr for the same usage (incl extra £25 MSE cashback).

Reminder: While this will save you money, you can save far more moving elsewhere. When doing your comparison click the other filters in the results and you'll see the scale of the savings. 

Someone on a Big 6 standard tariff pays an average £1,132/yr with typical usage. Yet E.on and First Utility have fixed deals at around £900/yr and for some even the British Gas deal above may win, plus on all Big 6 switches you can get £25 MSE cashback.

Which is cheapest for you depends on where you live and your usage. So use our Cheap Energy Club 'Big Name Suppliers' comparison(which factors in cashback) to filter out all but big name deals.

Many new, smaller providers offer much cheaper rates. Some are new with limited or poor feedback, others have better records. Someone on a Big 6 standard tariff pays an average £1,132/yr with typical usage - the very cheapest deal on the market is £820/yr at time of writing.

Your best deal depends on location and usage so use our Cheap Energy Club 'Whole of Market' comparison (factoring in cashback) to find your cheapest. Or you can check our 'TOP PICKS' comparison for cheap minnows with some decent feedback, and other deals we think are worth looking at.

Key energy switching info... 
For more, see the full Cheap Energy Club FAQs.

Q. What does switching actually mean? In practical terms switching isn't a biggie. No one visits your home (unless it's to install a smart meter). It's the same gas, same electricity, even same safety - the only change is price and service.

Q. What info do I need to switch? It's best if you have a bill, and input kilowatt hours (kWh) into Cheap Energy Club, rather than cost. Yet DON'T WORRY if you don't know your usage; Cheap Energy Club can help you guesstimate. While the answer won't be perfect, it's usually far better than doing nowt.

Q. What if I'm on a prepay meter? You can still switch. Try our prepay comparison - savings are smaller, typically £55/yr, but it's worth doing. For bigger savings, see if you can switch to a credit meter. Full help in cut the cost of prepay energy.

Q. Does MSE make money from this? Yes. Like all energy comparison sites, we're paid each time you switch through us, but we aim to give you about half in cashback (money you don't get if you go direct). The rest helps cover our costs and hopefully makes us some profit. We've had to drop the cashback from £30 to £25 recently as suppliers can give us less - for more see MSE Jason's blog.

Q. What happens if my small supplier goes bust? Rules that came in last year mean your energy credit is protected and your energy stays on as you'll be transferred to another supplier. However, you could lose any cheap deal you're on.

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