Energy Prices And The Postcode Lottery

Energy prices are subject to a postcode lottery meaning households could pay up to £180 more for energy depending on where you live.

uSwitch has found that households face a postcode lottery that sees the price they pay for their energy vary by £76 a year on average according to where they live.

Looking at the energy suppliers’ most competitive tariffs the impact of postcode on the prices can clearly be seen. For example an E.ON Save Online 10 customer living in Brighton (Seeboard region) can be paying just £984 a year on average, whereas another E.ON customer with the same plan but living in London can be paying £1,164 a year – £180 a year more.

Regional pricing leads to winners and losers with households in Cardiff (the Swalec region) paying £1,108 a year on average making it the most expensive energy region in the country. Households in Liverpool (Manweb region) are also losing out paying £1,100 a year on average.

Cheapest places for energy are Brighton in Seeboard region (£1,060 a year on average), Leeds in Yorkshire region (£1,067) and Edinburgh in ScottishPower region (£1,069).

Even if you do live in an expensive energy post code, you can still save money by finding the cheapest supplier in the area. For example, in Cardiff, the most expensive region, there is £106 difference between the cheapest and most expensive supplier.

Christine McGourty, director of the industry trade body Energy UK, said: ‘There are reasons why energy prices vary according to where you live.

‘The costs of actually transporting gas and electricity vary according to distance from the source, and different network charges apply in different areas of the country.”

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: “When it comes to the most competitive energy prices in the market consumers face a postcode lottery – the price they get literally does depend on where they live.

“But while this can catch out the unwary, once people are aware of regional pricing they can very easily turn it to their advantage simply by making sure that they are with the supplier offering the best price in their area.

“Even though all suppliers offer their cheapest prices online, these can vary by as much as £180 in one area. And consumers cannot assume that their local supplier will automatically be cheaper – not one supplier currently offers their most competitive price in their incumbent or ‘local’ region. This is why it’s so important for households to shop around to make sure they are getting a fair deal.”

MoneyHighStreet comments: “Energy prices are a hot topic of discussion at the moment. It is absolutely vital that you find the right energy plan to suit your household needs and compare prices to do this.

“It is also important that you look at how you might be able to save money through a close look at your energy consumption. It’s not just a case of trying not to turn your heating on.  How about making sure you turn lights off when you leave a room, or if making just a single mug of coffee only boil enough water to fill the mug?”

Energy prices – the postcode lottery: 

City	Old PES region Old PES region	British Gas	EDF Energy	E.ON	npower	SSE	ScottishPower	Variation  across suppliers within a region
		Websaver 13	Fix for 2012	SaveOnline 10	Sign Online 24	Atlantic Dual Fuel Domestic Standard Online Nil Service Charge	Online Energy Saver 16
Nottingham	East Midlands	£1,081	£1,040	£1,104*	£1,035	£1,132	£1,028	£104
Norwich	Eastern	£1,087	£1,038	£1,106*	£1,023	£1,132	£1,031	£109
London	London	£1,098	£1,053*	£1,164	£1,048	£1,137	£1,051	£116
Liverpool	Manweb	£1,113	£1,056	£1,134	£1,057	£1,160	£1,077*	£104
Birmingham	Midlands	£1,109	£1,053	£1,125	£1,052*	£1,137	£1,034	£103
Newcastle	Northern	£1,089	£1,039	£1,121	£1,043*	£1,128	£1,032	£96
Manchester	Norweb	£1,097	£1,038	£1,116*	£1,039	£1,141	£1,036	£105
Aberdeen	Scottish Hydro	£1,095	£1,062	£1,076	£1,058	£1,139*	£1,066	£81
Edinburgh	Scottish Power	£1,083	£1,058	£1,078	£1,032	£1,126	£1,039*	£94
Brighton	Seeboard	£1,103	£1,048*	£984	£1,054	£1,133	£1,035	£149
Southampton	Southern	£1,106	£1,050	£1,110	£1,059	£1,137*	£1,047	£90
Cardiff	Swalec	£1,118	£1,065	£1,137	£1,091	£1,171*	£1,067	£106
Bristol	Sweb	£1,133	£1,074*	£994	£1,077	£1,174	£1,066	£180
Leeds	Yorkshire	£1,076	£1,033	£1,116	£1,033*	£1,127	£1,018	£109
Regional variation by supplier		£57	£41	£180	£68	£48	£59

Source: uSwitch.com

Based on a medium user customer using 3,300 kWh of electricity and 16,500 kWh of gas, on an online dual fuel plan, paying by monthly direct debit.

* signifies that this is the price in the supplier’s incumbent region.