The best value gas & electricity energy suppliers

7 money saving tips for student energy bills

1. Go for gas & electricity dual tariff

   Not all properties have a gas connection, but if you do then it’s usually cheaper to combine your energy bills under a dual tariff with a single supplier.

   The other benefit is saving time and hassle by having just one single bill and dealing with one company rather than two.

2. Fix your gas & electricity prices now

   Fixing energy prices can be a good move, chiefly because year-on-year they have been going up and up.

   Locking into a set price protects you from any future hikes for the length of your contract, and in doing so makes things easier when it comes to budgeting and splitting bills evenly across your housemate.

   What’s more, Scottish Power currently don’t charge a cancellation fee to any customers so you won’t be locked into the contract. Sign up here.

3. Go for an online tariff

   Applying for or switching to an energy tariff with only online billing could save you around £200 a year (as opposed to a standard tariff with paper billing). It also does wonders for keeping your hallway tidy!

   All of your bills will be handled on your online account, where you can also set up easy monthly payments which are taken automatically.

4. Choose Direct Debit

   Paying your bills by Direct Debit could save you a further 10% with some suppliers. Be aware that there may be a difference when you submit your final meter readings, in which case you will either have to pay more (debit) or ask for the difference to be refunded(credit).

5. Check your meters

   Your chosen energy supplier will use the usage levels of the previous tenants to estimate your own monthly payments.

   To make sure you’re only paying for what you use (and not inheriting another person’s account) you should take meter readings and tell your supplier as soon as possible. You’ll also need to do the same when you eventually move out.

   To reduce the risk of paying too much or too little during your contract, it’s a good idea to submit meter readings every 3 months or so. Just imagine if you were paying £20 too little a month, that’s a prickly £240 bill at the end of 12 months which you wouldn’t have expected.

6. Get bills included in rent

   If you can find accommodation that is inclusive of basic bills (gas, electricity, water, internet) then you could make some great savings, so long as the rent is reasonable! It also makes things much easier in that you don’t have to worry about splitting up bills (see below).

   Bills included with rent is quite rare to find nowadays, but you could always ask by way of negotiating with the landlord or lettings agency.

7. Split the bills

   Most student houses are shared dwellings, meaning that you’ll need to figure out a way of splitting your utilities bills between housemates. It’s never straight forward, so remember to note down everything that you’ve paid for over the year for the house and also what you’re likely to owe others.

   A popular way of dealing with bill splitting for students is to delegate the various utilities (eg. water, gas, electricity, broadband & phone and the TV licence) between housemates and working out who owes who what at the end of each month. More on this in our full guide to student bills.

Best student energy suppliers for 2012

1. Energy Helpline (The best comparison site)

   Whilst this isn’t a supplier as such, little known EnergyHelpline.com is the place to start when it comes to comparing energy suppliers.

   With energy bills, it’s not always the case that one supplier is best for everyone and all areas so always compare. This website is one of the most trusted, transparent and comprehensive comparison sites for gas and electricity tariffs and allows you to complete the whole process in a few steps.

   It’s not uncommon for consumers to save as much as £300 with EnergyHelpline.com.

   Compare energy suppliers now »

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2. EDF Energy

   For most student households, EDF are currently our best buy energy supplier. They offer the best value on gas and electricity and customer service reviews are very good.

   You can use EDF’s Blue+ Price Promise to fix your tarrif at the current rate and also ensure that there are no cancellation fees (great for 9 month housing contracts).

   Also, they will tell you if they find a cheaper supplier and let you switch to them.

   Visit EDF Energy »

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3. Scottish Power

   Scottish Power are a great choice for students because you can currently fix your tariff to avoid price hikes and there is no cancellation fee (switch now as it is soon to be cancelled).

   Energy prices are fixed until 2014, but you may want to switch if prices do rise during your tenancy.

   Make sure that you switch as soon as possible and you could save up to £400 over 12 months and cancel whenever you want to.

   Visit Scottish Power »

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4. nPower

   The energy prices that nPower offer are some of the cheapest on the market, and if you fix now then you will have a great deal all year. You can compare your current supplier with their prices to see how much you could save on their website.

   The downside to nPower is that they have a reputation poor customer service.

   Visit nPower (cashback) »

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5. E.ON

   E.ON are a well known energy brand. They have good customer service but do not offer the best prices on the market.

   They may be worth a quick check as they have set a guarantee not to increase prices in 2012 although this could lead to a 2013 price hike.

   Visit E.on Energy »

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6. The best of the rest

   We are aware that there are many more student energy companies out there but these are our top 3 in terms of value for money. British Gas is a famous energy supplier and the customer service is second to none but the price hikes that they have set mean that they are not good value for money.

   Your best bet is to head over to Energy Helpline as they can sort out all of the confusion for you.

   Compare the rest »

Go for energy cashback

One of the best ways to save money is to go for student cashback.

With cashback you can get money off of any bills purchase. Sometimes you could even get up to £40 cashback which could the the equivalent of getting a months free gas and electricity.

We have signed up with a cashback site to offer our readers special offers under student cashback. Go and check it out now to grab some top deals.

Go to student cashback >>