How to compare dual fuel deals

If you’re looking to cut your household utility bills, switching energy supplier is a good place to start – switch to one of the cheapest dual fuel tariffs and you could save hundreds of pounds on the cost of your annual energy bills.

Here's more on how you can find the best dual fuel deals and why getting your gas and electricity from the same supplier might be a better option than having different energy companies supplying your home.

What is dual fuel?

If you’re on a dual fuel tariff, your gas and electricity is provided by the same supplier. This means you also only get billed by one supplier, and your each bill will have a breakdown of both your gas and electricity costs.

Energy companies will often offer a discount for customers who take on both gas and electricity contracts with them, which means the best dual fuel deals can work out cheaper than getting your gas and electricity from separate suppliers.

Dual fuel is usually offered as a variable, fixed, or online tariff, so you’ll need to compare everything on offer to work out which is the best deal. If you don’t mind dealing with two suppliers, it’s worth comparing the best dual fuel energy deals alongside single fuel gas and electricity deals, to work out which will save you the most money.

What are the average dual fuel prices?

Should you consider a dual fuel tariff?

There are a few good reasons why it’s worth considering getting your gas and electricity from the same supplier, the most obvious one being because it’s often more convenient to receive bills from just the one company, which may come as a combined, itemised bill.

If you have any complaints or questions, you only have to deal with the one energy supplier.

Then there’s the dual fuel discount, which most energy suppliers offer as an incentive for you to use them for both your gas and electricity.

These discounts are usually applied directly, meaning the money will come straight off your monthly or annual bills, but be aware these discounts change from time to time and may vary for each tariff so always check the tariff details before applying.

Can you switch to a dual fuel tariff?

Anyone can switch energy deal from a single fuel to a dual fuel tariff, and vice versa – just run a home energy comparison as normal, remembering to compare both gas and electricity together.

If you’re on a prepayment meter, you can still make the switch to dual fuel. Again, just run a price comparison as you usually would.

To get the most accurate results when running a comparison, you need to enter details of your household energy usage, but you’ll still be able to run a comparison even if you don’t have this information to hand.

Then simply review all the available options, pick a tariff that best suits your needs and your budget, before confirming the switch online.

You can either switch to a dual fuel deal with your current supplier or move across to a new supplier, but you’ll need to look out for exit fees, which you’ll have to pay on both your gas and electricity tariffs.

Even if you’re switching from one dual fuel deal to another, you’ll still have to pay an exit fee on both fuels.

How to find the best dual fuel deals

Dual fuel comparison sites like UKPower make it easy to find the cheapest dual fuel deals – to get started, just enter your postcode in the box at the top of the page and this will take you to our comparison tool.

You then need to enter a few details about your energy usage and the supplier you’re currently with – it helps if you can tell us how much electricity you use, or how much you spend on electricity, as we can then give you more accurate quotes. But don’t worry if you don’t have this information to hand, we can estimate how much energy you use based on the type of house you live in.

Our energy comparison tool will instantly return a list of quotes from a wide range of energy suppliers, ordered by how much we estimate you’ll save by switching. All you then need to do is choose the deal that best suits you.

If you pay your energy bills by Direct Debit, you’ll need to enter your bank details on the final, secure switching screen – and that’s really all there is to it, we’ll sort out the rest of the switch and you’ll soon be benefiting from cheaper energy bills.

How long should it take to switch to a dual fuel tariff?

Once you’ve compared energy prices and found the best dual fuel deal, we’ll send your change of supplier details through to your old provider, and pass your information on to your new one, who will then get in touch to confirm the switch.

Although you don’t need to do anything else, it’s worth contacting your old supplier with a final meter reading to make sure your final bill is accurate.

The switch should take no longer than 17 days to go through - three days for the switch, followed by a 14-day cooling off period – and remember, there’s no need for any drilling or work at your property as your gas and electricity will be supplied through the existing pipes and cables.

To compare dual fuel deals, enter your postcode below, or give our switching team a call on 0800 320 2000.