three in four households are paying up to £250 a year more on gas and electricity than they have to, official figures reveal most families are still on their energy firm's standard variable tariff – two years after david cameron promised to force suppliers to put all customers on the best deal the standard packages are £180 a year more expensive than the cheapest tariff, with some customers paying nearly £250 a year more three in four households are paying up to £250 a year more on gas and electricity than they have to, because they are on a standard variable tariff rather than the cheapest deal  shadow energy secretary caroline flint said mr cameron had promised 17 times in the house of commons to make energy suppliers automatically put all customers on their supplier's lowest tariff she said: 'more than two years after david cameron promised to make energy companies put all customers on the lowest tariff, millions of households are still being routinely overcharged by hundreds of pounds every single year 'that's why the next labour government will freeze energy prices until 2017, so that bills can fall but not rise, give the regulator the power to force energy suppliers to cut their prices and end overcharging once and for all' last month the competition and markets authority released early findings of an inquiry into the sector that the big six were overcharging millions of loyal customers by up to £234 a year during prime minster's question's time, david cameron pledged to force energy firms to put customers on the cheapest tariff  its findings showed 95% of the uk's 19 million dual fuel customers   those who take gas and electricity from the same company   could have saved between £158 and £234 by switching tariff or supplier the cma found the big six had consistently charged higher prices for standard variable tariffs than for other deals such as fixed tariffs energy uk chief executive lawrence slade said: 'standard variable tariffs are just that, the standard price a company is offering energy to customers labour's caroline flint said mr cameron had promised 17 times  to make energy suppliers put all customers on the lowest tariff  'part of the cost of energy is an assurance that the gas and electricity has been bought months in advance, making sure energy will be available to customers when it is needed 'new fixed price deals are able to take advantage of short term changes in costs and usually offer lower prices than the standard deals, often for a year or two 'however, the important thing for customers to remember is there are a wide range of deals available in the market 'if a customer thinks they might be able to save some money by switching tariff or company, they should log on to a comparison site or call their supplier' ofgem chief executive dermot nolan said: 'while recent price cuts are a step in the right direction, many customers could be better off to the tune of up to £250 by moving from a variable rate to a fixed rate deal 'if you're not sure where to start, then i'd strongly recommend the be an energy shopper website for an independent and impartial guide' a decc spokeswoman said: 'our reforms to drive down household bills are working and the best energy tariffs are cheaper than they were a year ago but people want to see more savings   now   and the power is in their hands to do something about it by shopping around for a better deal and switching energy suppliers households can save around £200 and some even more 'consumers deserve a fair deal   and this is exactly why we're backing the cma's investigation' despite wholesale energy prices falling sharply, household energy bills are not dropping at the same rate – nor at the same level across providers anyone on a standard tariff with a big six provider – british gas, eon, npower, sse, edf energy and scottishpower – who has not switched for several years can almost certainly save money by jumping ship households should really review deals every year to ensure they aren't overpaying, but even moving every other year will save you significant amounts remember, suppliers offer their cheapest rates via online tariffs prices are different all over the country and the cheapest supplier for you will depend where you live you can check how prices compare using the tool on the right
up to £250 2013
families paying up to £250 a year more on energy than they have to  three in four families are still on their energy firm's standard variable tariff  in 2013 the pm pledged to force suppliers to put all customers on best deal 