How to cut your utility bills

Before you start to shop around for a better deal you'll need to work out how much you're paying for your utilities now.

The easiest way to do this is to check your annual energy statement for a total. If you haven't had this yet, or can't find it you can work it out using your monthly bills. These should detail cost per kilowatt figures and your usage in kw/h - knowing this will make getting the best possible deal easier.

It's also important to look at how you're paying for your gas and electricity now as this can impact the cost of your energy supply considerably.

For most tariffs with most suppliers payment by direct debit tends to be the cheapest. However, if you're not submitting meter readings regularly it may be that you are either over- or under-paying considerably. This could mean that you're either owed money by your energy supplier, or, that you are actually indebted to them.

If you are paying for your gas and electricity by direct debit you should contact your supplier with accurate meter readings and ask them for an update on your account. If you're significantly in credit it may be that you can ask them to reduce your monthly payments - most don't pay you interest on any money they have. However, if you owe money on your account it's unlikely that you'll be able to switch suppliers until you settle the balance in full.

Unless your energy supplier is way out with their calculations you should expect to be a little in credit during the summer months and a little in debit, or just breaking even, in the winter. This is because the amount you pay should be spread evenly throughout the year.

If you have a prepay energy meter installed it's likely that you've been paying far more for your gas and electricity than you need to. While suppliers have been forced to reduce the discrepancy between prepay energy tariffs and those available to households that are on metered tariffs, it's unfortunately the case that those on prepaid meters miss out on the best deals.

If you have been on a prepay energy meter for a while it's possible that you'll be able to reclaim some money from your energy supplier - read this article to find out more.