If you are planning to switch gas and electricity providers, you need to follow various steps to choose the best energy supplier.

There are many companies that provide energy services. However, not all of them have the same plans, offers and policies.

So, before you choose a provider, you need to consider various factors. It will help you to choose not only the cheapest but the best energy provider in the market.

Steps to Choose Energy Provider:

Here are the steps you need to follow if you are planning to switch to a new energy provider.

• Step 1: Know Current Cost

The first thing you need to do is check the current cost of these services. You can check how much your current supplier is charging for these services. You will get this information on the bill. Apart from that, you also need to check your current consumption. This information is also given on the bill. It will help you to know how much you are paying for gas and electricity on a yearly basis.

• Step 2: Check Current Contract

There are many suppliers who impose a penalty when you switch to other suppliers. So, you need to check your current contact plan. It will help you to know if there is any penalty applicable if you switch the plan before its completion.

• Step 3: Research about Suppliers

This is one of the most important steps. Once you get all the information about the current plan, you need to research all the suppliers in your area. It will help you to easily shortlist the best suppliers.

• Step 4: Review Rates, Reputation, Trustworthiness

When you research the suppliers, you need to take all these factors into consideration. You need to check the current rates and plans available with the supplier. Apart from that, you also need to check the supplier’s reputation. It will help you to know whether the supplier is good or not. Lastly, you also need to check the trustworthiness of the supplier.

• Step 5: Choose a Plan

Once you choose the supplier, you need to search for a good plan. There are different types of plans available with the suppliers. You can go with, fixed-rate plan, variable-rate plan, indexed plan or prepaid plan. All these plans are different from one another. In a fixed-rate plan, you have to pay the same fixed rate throughout the contract. In the variable-rate plan, the unit rate keeps on changing. It is cheaper than a fixed rate. The indexed plan is a mix of both the above plans. Here the rate will depend on the time of use. You can also choose a prepaid plan in which you have to top up and use gas and electricity.

• Step 6: Check Other Things

Once you choose the plan, you also need to check various other things like minimum usage fees, discounts, perks, offers and freebies. It will help you to take advantage of the free offers and discounts before you pay full money for the plan.