The UK energy market was deregulated some years ago which means that an energy user can actively choose which supplier to purchase their gas or electricity from. While a consumer can choose the supplier they are purchasing from, this doesn’t mean that the wires or pipes to their house need to be changed; indeed nothing changes except who issues the bills and how much is paid.

Even though the market has been open to competition since the late 1990s, only around 10% of consumers proactively scour the market for the best details on a regular basis, and Ofgem, the Energy Watchdog estimates that some 60% of domestic consumers have never switched suppliers from what was their former Gas and Electricity ‘board’.

With a multitude of tariffs available to the domestic consumer along with potential savings in excess of £100, it does beg the question as to whether consumers feel that switching supplier is too complicated, or the general malaise is due to some other reason.

But switching isn’t difficult, and can usually be completed within six weeks, meaning that you save money with the minimum of effort.

To save the maximum amount of money, it is important to be prepared by having recent bills at hand and you should take the following tips into consideration:

• Search Online – The best deals are offered to online customers. The online channel offers several benefits both for the consumer and the supplier. The consumer as the ability to download PDF copies of their energy statement, whereas the supplier can obtain recent meter readings and save on posting bills to the consumer.

• Use Comparison Sites – Many energy price comparison sites have appeared over the years; use those to do the legwork for you but remember that signing up to that tariff via the comparison site might leave you without free cashback!

• Use Actual Figures – Many sites ask you to enter the amount you pay for your energy – this is a crude comparator and it is always best to work out your annual energy usage for both gas and electricity in Kilowatt Hours using those for the basis of an accurate comparison. You can find the actual consumption on your previous bills.

• Check Cashback Sites – A large number of cashback sites have appeared over the last five years. These sites receive commission for introducing your business to the energy companies, and rather than keep it all for themselves, they give part of the commission back to you in the form of cash or vouchers. It is not uncommon to see incentives of up to £100 so check whether you can benefit from cashback when signing up for your chosen tariff.

• Use Direct Debit – There is still an element of unease amongst some consumers when it comes to using this payment method, even though using it offers some of the best deals. Most energy providers offer a 3-8% discount on their tariffs by using Direct Debit, and as payments are taken monthly, the annual cost of energy is spread evenly throughout the year. During the summer months, a buffer fund should be built up to pay for the winter, however it is important to give your supplier regular meter readings (at least once a quarter) so that the level of the Direct Debit is set accurately to avoid over or under payment.

• Review the Market Regularly – The UK energy market is dynamic and you may rapidly find that the value of your tariff erodes as new tariffs are introduces. Review the market at least annually and change if better deals become available. Before switching, ensure that there are no exit fees and that any minimum contract term has ended on your current tariff.

Searching out the best energy tariff and receiving cashback in the process is a cinch if you are prepared to spend around an hour a year researching the market and swapping supplier. Help and advice is available through the internet on consumer and switching sites, so why not search out the best deal today?