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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.

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...

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.

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?