Switching sites

Switching sites have done a lot in recent years to simplify
comparing the prices of different energy suppliers.
This might sound useful, but there are a few things
you should be aware of:

• The sites earn a commission when you switch,
  so may be pestering you to switch again and again in future.
• They provide you with an estimate of each supplier’s price for a given estimated amount of energy consumed. What you don’t see is what the supplier would charge if your actual consumption turns out to be higher or lower than you estimated.
• Their increasing influence means that suppliers scramble ever harder to be the cheapest on the list. But they can’t sustain being the cheapest for long, so they gradually and quietly drop down the league table, making way for others. When you visit the same switching site a few months later, you can invariably get a better deal by switching again. It’s created a ‘churn and churn again’ situation, increasing costs for the industry – costs which are ultimately passed on to customers.
• Some cheap tariffs are only available for a limited period, e.g. until a fixed future date, so you should read the small print carefully to see what happens to the price when the fixed period ends. Often, you will be automatically put onto a higher price.

Co-operative Energy is aiming to stay consistently competitive so that, once you've switched to us, you need never have to worry about switching again.

Find out more about how the energy industry works here.