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RECORD ENERGY BILLS TURN HEAT ON BRITISH CONSUMERS

~ energyhelpline attacks politicians for dishonesty over fuel prices ~

London - April 14, 2010

British consumers are being hit by record winter fuel bills of more than £500 because of the cold snap and sky-high energy costs, according to research released today.

The independent price comparison website energyhelpline.com says the average household on standard tariffs will have to pay a dual fuel bill of £532.70 for the last quarter of January-March – £57 up on last year’s record of £475.

The announcement comes after the main political parties pledged action to shake up the energy market, with Labour unveiling a commitment to make sure retail prices are pegged more closely to wholesale ones in the future. The Tories have also said they will transform the supply network with a new “smart grid” managing supply and demand.

However, Mark Todd, director of energyhelpline.com, said: “Politicians have been making false promises about changing the energy market for too long and consumers are now living with the harsh reality of their hollow pledges.

“There is a lot of big talk about big changes and a big society but all the voters are seeing are big bills.

“In a privatised energy market, there is little governments can do and they need to be honest and tell people that the only way to reduce their bills is by taking personal responsibility to find the best deals.”

Energyhelpline.com has calculated that the average household on standard tariffs taking gas and electricity has to pay £397.70 for gas and £135 for electricity for the last quarter – an increase of around 50 per cent in the last two years.

However, energyhelpline.com research has revealed they could save more than £400 a year by moving onto cheaper online tariffs, such as Ovo”s New Energy tariff at £855.

Todd added: “This is a winter whammy which will hit many vulnerable people and ordinary families who had no choice but to turn up their heating because of the freezing weather.

“People are now facing up to the chilling reality of a combination of the coldest winter in 31 years and high retail fuel costs. However, consumers need to realise they can help themselves. The tragedy of these latest bills is that they were so avoidable. They could have saved £150 on each bill just by spending a few minutes on the internet in the autumn.”

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www.energyhelpline.com

About the company

About energyhelpline (www.energyhelpline.com)

energyhelpline is part of firsthelpline.com which provides assistance via the Internet and telephone to enable customers to switch to cheaper suppliers for gas, electricity, heating insurance and home phones. energyhelpline is the only major price comparison service to guarantee to find UK households their cheapest energy supplier. It can do this as it lists all the suppliers in the UK. Consumers can switch online or by calling firsthelpline.com’s advisors on 0800 074 0741.

It was founded in November 2002 and has performed over 200,000 switches, with average customer savings of around £200 on gas and electricity bills. The service is completely independent, and impartial.

energyhelpline.com is part of firsthelpline.com which provides assistance via the Internet and telephone to enable customers to switch to cheaper suppliers for gas, electricity, heating insurance and home phones. energyhelpline is the only major price comparison service to guarantee to find UK households their cheapest energy supplier. It can do this as it lists all the suppliers in the UK. Consumers can switch online or by calling firsthelpline.com’s advisors on 0800 074 0741.
It was founded in November 2002 and has performed over 200,000 switches, with average customer savings of around £200 on gas and electricity bills. The service is completely independent, and impartial.

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David Brown at LEWIS PR on 0207 802 2607

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RECORD ENERGY BILLS TURN HEAT ON BRITISH CONSUMERS

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