Powergen has lost its place at the top of the best buy tables

Powergen has lost its place at the top of the best buy tables

Powergen has slid down the best buy tables for gas and electricity after this week's price hike, to be replaced by cheaper providers such as Atlantic, Utilita and SWEB.

The six million customers of Powergen were told this week that their gas bills will go up by 9.6%, while electricity will rise 8.9%. Someone with a typical dual fuel deal will see their bill rise by around £54 a year.

The increase is the third by Powergen in less than a year and comes only two months since the last one took hold. Simply Switch estimates that putting all the price rises to gether, a Powergen household will pay £133 more this year.

What should customers do now? The proliferating industry of energy switching websites pounced on the price rises to tempt consumers to use their services and move suppliers. But beware the billing problems that switching can bring and be careful to consult two or more switching websites before settling on a new supplier.

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A recent investigation by Jobs & Money found that comparison sites sometimes fail to offer the cheapest providers, especially if you ring up rather than go online, and some low-cost suppliers fail to appear at all. When Jobs & Money tested the sites in mid-October, Powergen's Energy Online dual fuel deal featured at the top or towards the top of nearly all of them.

But when we retested the same case - a standard household in London - this week, Powergen had slipped down the table, to be replaced by Atlantic, Telecom Plus, Scottish Power and Utilita.

In different regions of the UK, providers offer different tariffs, which means that it's impossible to produce one UK-wide best buy table.

We tested various postcodes around the UK - from Cornwall to Edinburgh - and found that Atlantic and Utilita generally featured as best buys in the south, SWEB and Seeboard in the midlands and north, and London Energy and Seeboard in Scotland.

It's worth noting that Powergen's price rise simply brings it more into line with other providers rather than being particularly high in itself.

Karen Darby, CEO of Simply- Switch says: "Over the past few months we have seen some unprecedented price increases. This latest price hike from Powergen is clearly a step to bring the energy company into line with the other major players as its earlier price increases were not as steep.

"However, this should not deter consumers from switching. As energy companies raise their prices further, the potential savings will also increase. Even if you have switched your energy supplier before, you can still make further savings.

"If, like most people, you have never switched, you could be in line to save well over £200 a year - more than enough to counteract the 2004 price rises."

The bad news is that consumers could face further sharp increases next year if oil prices stay high.

Independent watchdog Energywatch warned that the increases were forcing thousands more people into fuel poverty. "Consumers deserve a decent explanation of why they will have less to spend on food, clothes and other essentials because of their growing energy bills," Energywatch chief executive Allan Asher said.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004