Switching your energy supplier
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan wants to encourage more Londoners to switch to a better energy supplier. As part of his £34 million Energy for Londoners programme, Sadiq is committed to helping Londoners save on their bills or help them to buy energy from cleaner sources.
One of the best ways to reduce your energy bill is to switch tariff or supplier. If you haven’t switched your energy supplier in the last year, you’re probably paying far more than you need to. In April 2018, the cheapest available tariff was over £325 less than the average from a big supplier. But last year, only 18% of UK electricity customers switched supplier and Londoners are less likely to have switched supplier than the average UK consumer.
How to find the best tariffs
To help you find the cheapest tariffs, take a look at Citizens Advice, or a comparison site accredited by Ofgem. They’ll give you clear information to help you get the best deals.
Helping you switch and save
The Mayor is now working with Citizens Advice to help Londoners ‘switch and save’. They will be training advisers with the right information and skills to give Londoners tailored energy advice that will make a difference.
Citizens Advice will also work to increase visibility and awareness of help available to those affected by fuel poverty. This includes the Mayor’s Fuel Poverty Support Fund which is helping London boroughs build advice and support networks to help people out of fuel poverty. And the Mayor’s Warmer Homes programme, offering insulation, free boilers and other measures to eligible London homeowners on benefits.
Citizens Advice Enfield will lead this programme and will run public events to engage people with their energy supply and help them switch and save.
Events will be running throughout summer across the following boroughs:
• Tower Hamlets
• Barking & Dagenham
• Newham
• Redbridge
• Havering
Find out where the events are on Citizens Advice Enfield’s website.
How to switch at home
If you can’t make one of these events, once you’ve found a cheaper supplier, you can switch online, or by phone. The new supplier will get in touch with your old supplier, and they will share meter readings – so you don’t need to contact your old supplier again. There are no home visits required either. It takes around five days to switch, but Ofgem is working towards next day switching.
You have 14 days to change your mind, cancel the switch and return to your old supplier. Remember you can contact your supplier or get independent advice if anything goes wrong in the process. Before you switch, you can also read Citizens Advice’s comparison of energy supplier’s customer service records.
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