Switch your energy deal by the end of this month or risk missing out on savings of over £300

Don't get caught out overpaying for gas and electricity

 By the end of February over a quarter of a million people will be at risk of overpaying on gas and electricity. Make sure you're not one of them and switch energy deal now.

Related: Here's how you could be getting £25 a week towards your energy bill this winter

January and February is already a tricky time financially, with the Christmas splurge still hanging over households, so don't make it any more challenging by paying too much on your energy bills.

Switch energy deal now and save over £300

It is around this time of year that many cheaper fixed-rate deals come to an end. A total of 77 cheap deals will be coming to an end over the next six weeks.

white kitchen with countertop and white cabinets

(Image credit: Future PLC/Colin Poole)

If you take your eye off the ball when your current energy deal does end you could be catapulted onto your provider's most expensive standard energy tariff.

For example, if you are on EDF Energy's Blue+Heating Protect tariff, paying an average of £1,042 a year, when the deal finishes this month you will be automatically moved to a standard tariff paying around £1,177 a year.

Price comparison website Energy Helpline has worked out that each customer could be hit with an average price increase of £72.50 a year. However, if customers switch energy deal to a new cheaper fixed-rate deal, they could save an average of £334 a year.

All you have to do is make sure you have started the switching process before your current deal comes to an end.

white dining room with table and pictures

(Image credit: Future PLC/Colin Poole)

'If your current rate expires at the end of this month, so long as you have started the switching process before then your existing provider can't hit you with its standard variable rate,' Mark Todd, director at Energy helpline told thisismoney.co.uk.

'This means you can arrange a new low-cost deal and continue to pay your current rate right up until the moment your new rate starts,' he adds.

The earliest that you can start the process of switching energy deals is 49 days. If your current energy deal ends in February, don't put it off. Start shopping around today.

Related: Energy vampire – we explain what one is and why it could be costing you £6,500

Over the last six months, some of the lowest energy deals available have become even cheaper. It's never been a better time to bag an energy bargain.

Rebecca Knight
Deputy Editor, Digital

Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.