With so many Brits facing a cost of living crisis and a huge increase in energy bills, many will be wondering how they can save some money over the coming months and years.
Due to soaring energy costs, energy regulator Ofgem announced that the price cap on costs would be rising by a whopping 54% of April 1.
April will also see a National Insurance tax hike and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - which helps us measure inflation, has reached a 30 year high.
Saving money is vital and many will be wondering if they should be switching energy suppliers to try and avoid the huge uplift in some way, even if the government has announced plans to help with the costs.
A £200 rebate on bills in October will help, but must be repaid in £40 instalments from 2023.
In addition, about 20 millions households in England for people in bands A to D will get £150 off their council tax bills. However, this still won't be enough to cover the costs of the price rise.
So what should people do?
Should I switch energy suppliers?
The increase means a £693 rise for 22 million households this coming April.
Switching energy supplier in the pursuit of cheaper rates is unfortunately not really an option for most people at the moment, according to experts.
Money Saving Expert said: "Unfortunately, due to the dire state of the market, most can't save by switching right now."
Before the recent price rise, they advised that price-cap tariffs were the "cheapest" option.
"More than 60% of households are on these standard tariffs – you'll be on one if you've never switched, your fixed deal ended and you didn't switch again, or if your provider went bust and you were moved across to a new supplier."
What are the cheapest energy suppliers?
According to UK Power, the cheapest supplier with the lowest annual bill was Utility Warehouse. However, this was based on some very specific factors and was an average for across the UK for use of 12500 kWh of gas per year.
It also only showed tariffs generally available across the whole of the UK. There may be tariffs only available in your area or select areas in the country
In short, it is extremely difficult to compare what the cheapest energy supplier is on the whole as it depends entirely on where you live and you should research the cheapest deal thoroughly.
Other factors include how much energy you use, what sort of energy you use and how you prefer to pay your bills.
There are good ways of comparing this and for the best results, it helps to know how much energy you used in the past year.
Below is two useful energy comparison sites:
Is the new cap the most I will pay?
People should be aware that a 'cap' does not mean that this is the most they will pay.
Money Saving Expert explained: "The price cap sets a limit on the rates you pay for each unit of gas and electricity, so if you use more, you'll pay more.
"Under the new cap, the rates on average (it varies by region) are about 7p/kWh for gas, with a standing charge of 27p per day. For electricity, it's about 28p/kWh, with a standing charge of 45p per day."
As well as the 22million households affected by the price cap rise, Ofgem has also declared a £708 a year increase to people on prepay tariffs.
Those households, around four million, are now paying £2,017 a year.
