Martin Lewis: Why are energy standing charges so high? What can be done?
Outrageously, most people will pay £300 per year just for the facility of having gas and electricity, even if you don't use any. This is due to the high energy standing (daily) charges. These are a moral hazard and should, at the minimum, be substantially reduced – something I am, again, campaigning with the regulator Ofgem to change. So I wanted to bash out this blog to run you through it.
Martin Lewis: Energy price freeze rumours – what it means for you, will it work?
Energy firms met the new Liz Truss administration yesterday, and it's strongly rumoured that top of the agenda was freezing the price cap at its current level (£1,971/yr for someone on typical use) and adding small business to the cap too. This is similar to suggestions made by the main opposition parties – though likely to be funded in a different way.
Why don’t we include energy firms’ kilowatt hour costs in our weekly email?
I always suggest, when you’re doing an energy comparison, to enter the kilowatt hours (kWh) figure from your bill, if possible, as it gives a more accurate result than entering the cost. (Though the sin of inaction is far greater than the sin of inaccuracy – so if you’re unsure, don’t be put off.)
British Gas customers’ new £225 a year discount
British Gas is the UK’s biggest energy firm, and millions of customers stick with it through thick and thin, even if they know they can get much cheaper deals elsewhere (as I constantly nag about). Yet right now there’s a route that enables existing British Gas direct debit customers, who use dual fuel (ie, gas & electricity)...
British Gas customers – there’s a hidden way to cut £130+ off your bill…
British (and Scottish) Gas is the UK’s biggest energy supplier, serving over 10m homes. And no surprise for a provider still benefitting from its past monopoly advantage, it ain’t cheap! After all, why should it be – many of its customers stick with it, price hike after price hike, bill after bill. Currently though, there is a...
The secret of how to pick your new energy provider from a list of firms you’ve not heard of
Comparing energy tariffs is easy. Yet as I’ve learnt over the last year, it’s picking your new supplier from a list of unknown names that is putting many off. So I wanted to bash out a quick blog to show you how to navigate through that. The majority of people in the UK are overspending on energy...
Why you now need to ‘join’ to get a super-cheap MSE collective energy switch deal
On Tue 2 February, we’re launching our new ‘Big Winter Energy Collective Switch event’, but we’re having to change the way our collective switches operate, so I wanted to bash out a quick blog to explain why.
Energy price hikes: Why there’s ‘still time to fix’ when it was ‘urgent, fix now’
British Gas today announced 6% price rises to hit on 16 November, while SSE will hike prices by 9% next Monday. There’s still time to beat these by locking in cheaper prices with no jumps guaranteed for two years (see the Cheap Gas & Electricity guide for how). The solution is all about switching to a cheap...
28 November 2023
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Martin: Stop the savings rip-off!
How to max every penny
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Hot mobile & Sim deals
£330 off Samsung, 100GB data £6/mth & more
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Barclays FREE £175 switch bribe
Ends 11.59pm Thu
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Energy bills UP 5% in Jan
Martin's need-to-knows
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Use/extend expiring Clubcard vouchers
Two-day warning for Tesco shoppers
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'Free' £2 Popchips & £2 kombucha
Plus more coupons
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Watch Martin's Power of Attorney briefing
More important than a will & not just for older folks
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Recent Blogs
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Martin Lewis: Energy bill credit – how much is too much? Stop the rip-off and get back £100s, by understanding the monthly direct debit energy cycle…
28 November 2023![]()
Martin Lewis dissects how much energy bill credit is too much, and when it's best to ask for it back -
Martin Lewis: Is it time to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?
21 November 2023![]()
Update September 2017: It’s eight years since I first braved this subject, expecting a snowstorm of protest. Instead, year after year more join in, like Julia who recently tweeted me, “@MartinSLewis, finally took your advice and told my family I can’t afford Christmas presents. What a weight off my mind. Thank you.” One year even the Archbishop of... -
Martin Lewis' data-Crunch: What's the UK's best salt 'n' vinegar crisps?
6 November 2023![]()
The joy of good salt 'n' vinegar is you bite them, and they bite back – the flavour needs to be strong, sharp, and leave your tongue feeling like sandpaper. So it's time to focus MSE's data-crunching expertise on to the ultimate investigative challenge... finding the UK's best salt 'n' vinegar crisps.
