With more price rises in the pipeline ''consumers should seek best utility deals now''

By MoneyhighStreet Staff. Published on August 2, 2008 This post currently has no comments.

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Consumers should start looking for the most competitive utilities tariffs as soon as possible, an industry expert has said.

Late in July, experts suggested that gas bills could rise by as much as 40 per cent in the coming months, as the UK becomes increasingly reliant on European and Asian supplies.

As a result, Rebecca Atkinson, the news editor at Moneywise.co.uk, explained that it was becoming increasingly important for consumers to take steps to make sure they select the most competitive utility tariffs.

"All customers will probably be hit in one way or another because bills are going up across the board," she added.

"The households that are likely to suffer the most are therefore the low income families, people that are already struggling to pay their gas and electricity bills."

In general, Ms Atkinson said that best thing households could do was to start investigating the various utility deals available. She noted that it was unlikely that gas and electricity prices would decline even if oil and petrol prices dipped.

"It''s important that people realise prices are likely to continue to go up, so they should consider getting a capped or fixed deal now," the expert pointed out.

"These deals may not always be the cheapest but if you think ahead and think about where prices are going in the future, then it may work out cheaper down the line."