Our energy price comparison calculator is wholly owned and managed by us and our team based in the UK. It uses information about your current energy supply arrangements to identify or calculate your average annual energy usage. It then uses this annual usage figure to calculate comparative quotes for all available products available to you so you can easily compare these with your current gas and electricity tariff. All calculations are fully impartial and are calculated on a true like-for-like basis.
The Energy Shop calculator was the first ever price comparison service to be accredited under the energywatch Code for energy price comparison sites (now the Ofgem Confidence Code) back in 2003. We have remained accredited by the Confidence Code since we first launched. This means that we have consistently passed strict tests that confirm that the service we offer is comprehensive in our coverage of energy suppliers and energy tariffs, accurate in the presentation of our results, and totally impartial.
From your address we identify the region of the country in which you live and filter out the range of tariffs available to you because energy suppliers have different prices in different regions. NOTE: There are 14 different regions in the UK known as PES regions each carrying their own set of rates/prices for any given tariff. Imagine the costs to provide power in the Scottish Highlands (long cables to a few spread out properties) compared to the costs to provide power in London to thousands of properties in one block of flats.
From the details of you current energy supplier, current energy tariff, current payment method and current consumption, we calculate the annual bill that you will pay with your current supplier based on their latest prices. We then compare this to the bills that you would pay with all the other energy suppliers and prices available to you in your area based upon your payment and tariff preferences.
If you do not know your annual usage in kilowatt hours, but know your approximate annual gas bill and / or your electricity bill, then we will use the bill information you give us to calculate your annual energy usage based upon your current energy supplier's latest prices. From the calculated usage figure, we then compare the bills that you will pay with your current supplier with the energy bills that you would pay with the other energy suppliers and energy tariffs available to you in your area based upon your payment and tariff preferences.
The estimated savings are calculated by subtracting the annual cost of the new tariff from the cost with your current energy supplier and tariff.
The default presentation of the results is shown strictly in the order of lowest cost (highest saving) first. You are then able to narrow your results by selecting the tariff types you are interested in e.g. fixed/variable tariff, paper/paperless billing etc... You can also choose to sort your results by factors other than price (for example by length of fixed period or tariffs with no exit penalty) and decide which energy payment options you want to see.
Please note that you can opt to filter tariffs based on the features and preferences you require. However, if you choose to do this to refine your search, then you will only see those tariffs that match your criteria. In this case you may no longer see the cheapest energy tariffs available to you.
Our calculator uses the most up-to-date energy prices available and the website is often updated within hours of a price increase being announced. This means that the calculator is always using the most up to date information for comparison purposes.
The calculator looks at several variables when calculating the annual bill for each tariff. It then works out how much you could save by switching from your current energy supplier to each available tariff. The variables used are:
Standing Charges - This is where the supplier charges a fixed daily amount irrespective of the amount of energy that you use. This does not apply to all energy tariffs.
Unit Rates - These are the rates that you pay for each unit of gas and electricity that you use. In working out which unit rates to apply, we take into consideration consumption thresholds. This is where different unit charges apply depending upon the amount of energy that you use in a given period. Typically, you will pay a higher unit rate for the first block of units used in a given period, and a lower rate for the second and subsequent blocks of units used thereafter.
Discounts - We take into consideration all recurring discounts or charges that are automatically applied to the given tariff.
In determining which discounts to include, we work on the underlying principal that only recurring cash discounts (or charges) that are automatically applied to tariffs each year are included in our calculations. Introductory or one-off discounts are not included, nor are charges that may be incurred if a plan is cancelled or altered. If there is a one-off incentive for signing up to a particular product this will be shown in the special offers column of the results table. Were a tariff offers non-cash incentives we show details of the particular offer separately, but we do not put a cash value on any such incentives. Contributions made to charity are also not included in the calculated annual bill.
Discounts we include:
- Dual fuel discounts
- Direct Debit discounts (and any other discounts that may be applicable to a chosen payment method).
- Paperless billing discounts
- Online discount where customers obtain an ongoing discount for signing up online or agreeing to manage their account online
- Fixed charges where, for example, applying for a tariff also requires paying an ongoing monthly membership fee.
Our calculator includes plans that a customer may currently be signed up to, but which may no longer be available for new customers. These tariffs are sometimes called historic tariffs. Examples include Fixed Price or Capped Price energy deals that an energy supplier previously offered, but which has now withdrawn from the market. We include these in our database so that you can compare these tariffs with other deals in the marketplace. However as they are not available to new customers, they are not included in the results table. The list of such that tariffs we allow for comparison purposes is extensive but not exhaustive. Because many of these prices are no longer published, we cannot guarantee that we can include them all.
The Energy Shop is a free, independent and impartial energy comparison service. We can help you compare and switch energy suppliers to save money. Our service is accredited by the Ofgem Confidence Code.
