Money tip #118 – The rule allowing you to reject energy price rises

1 min read Published: 22 Dec 2010

 A little known trick to stop your energy supplier increasing your bills.

Thanks to a little known regulatory rule it is possible to reject your energy supplier’s price rises.

Under rules laid out by the energy industry regulator, Ofgem, customers are allowed to reject their supplier's price increases while switching to another energy supplier, according to Miles Brignall in The Guardian.

How to take advantage and save money

Your current energy provider will inform you in writing of any proposed increases to their prices. You then have 20 working days from the date of receiving the letter to notify your supplier, in writing, that you reject their price rise and that you plan to switch suppliers. Under the Ofgem rules your current energy supplier is unable to enforce the proposed price hike and so you can continue to enjoy the benefits of your current price plan while you switch energy supplier.

Once you have informed your current supplier of your intentions you then have 15 days in which to initiate the switch.

If you then take account of the fact that it can take up to 6 weeks to switch energy supplier, alongside all the above timescales, the whole process from beginning to end can take a number of months – by which point the worst of your winter heating usage is over and you have avoided any price rises.

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