How big energy firms are still over charging loyal customers by £360 a year
Around 13million customers are still stuck on expensive Standard Variable Tariffs, new figures from regulator Ofgem have revealed
BIG energy companies are still overcharging loyal customers by as much as £360 a year.
Some 57 per cent of families with the 10 largest suppliers – around 13 million customers – are stuck on pricey Standard Variable Tariffs (SVTs), new figures from regulator Ofgem show.
These can be much pricier than the cheapest tariff offered by a company - which tend to be aimed at luring in new customers.
For example, a typical E.On customer on a standard tariff will pay £1,133 a year - some £222 a year more than its best deal.
And if families moved away from the biggest suppliers to the best deals from new, smaller suppliers they would save even more. The average difference is £300 but it is as much as £360 with nPower.
Ofgem started monitoring the situation after a Sun probe revealed how suppliers were keeping customers on the rip-off deals, which at the time could be almost £400 more.
The new figures show Big Six firms are still penalising loyal families. The situation has improved very slightly - households on the expensive tariffs has fallen slightly from 59 per cent.
But the regulator said suppliers still need to do more to help them get a better deal.
How to switch energy supppliers
Swapping energy providers can save households hundreds of pounds a year - and helpfully it's pretty simple to do.
Use a price comparison website like or to find the cheapest deal - what one you'll get depends on the area you live in and your usage.
The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed - meaning you guarantee how much you'll pay for a set amount of time, usually twelve months.
When you've found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information - which you can find on your bill - to hand to give the new supplier.
- Your postcode
- Name of your existing supplier
- Name of your existing deal and how much you pay
- An up-to-date meter reading
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won't be interrupted in that time.
The three largest suppliers – SSE, British Gas and E.ON – have the most customers on the pricey tariffs.
SSE was the bottom of Ofgem’s new league table - with 71 per cent.
British Gas ranked second from the bottom with 67 per cent and E.On 61 per cent.
Of the 10 largest companies included in the table, the three with the smallest proportion of customers on SVTs are all independent suppliers - First Utility (23 per cent), Ovo Energy (28 per cent) and Co-Operative Energy (35 per cent) respectively.
Some large suppliers have announced plans to use new Ofgem rules to roll customers automatically on to fixed default deals instead of an SVT as part of wider initiatives to phase out the tariffs.
But Ofgem said that while such moves were "a step in the right direction", they must lead to inactive customers "genuinely benefiting from a significantly better deal, and not just being put on a rebranded poor-value tariff."
Ed Molyneux, from consumer group The Big Deal, said: “This shows that a price cap is still desperately needed.
"People are paying as much as £360 more on the standard variable tariffs, and it is clear that Big Six are not acting quickly to end this. The Government and Ofgem need to force the big energy companies to give customers a better deal."
Alex Neill, from watchdog Which?, added: "Progress in moving millions of households off expensive standard tariffs has been painfully slow.
More on money
"Energy companies shouldn't be waiting for the price cap, they need to do more to help their customers now."
In October, the Government announced a price cap for expensive SVTs bills until at least 2020.
But some experts warned the plans could actually push-up prices instead.
MoneySavingeExpert's Martin Lewis revealed how Brits could slash their bills by switching to smaller firms - with some customers able to save up to £600 a year.
In November British Gas announced it would be scrapping its SVT deals from April next year.
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