Electricity meterThe endless summer of rain and cold weather has not only ruined several sporting events and made the whole country pretty miserable, but it's also pushed up our summer energy bills by up to 200%.

In a normal year, our energy bills fall dramatically over the summer months, but because of the recent dire weather this hasn't happened yet and people are still using just as much energy as they were earlier in the year.

Cut your bills

In fact because of the poor weather conditions, we're using far more energy than we normally would which means our summer bills could be up to 200% higher than last year, according to research from Energyhelpline.com.

June was the wettest month since records began, according to the Met Office. And research from npower also found that 50% of us have turned the heating on in the past month to keep warm.

Cut your bills



Switching supplier
However, while you might have succumbed to sticking on the heating recently, are you sure you're on the best deal? If you aren't then switching your energy company is the best way to shave off some pounds and can save you an average of £256 a year.

I've picked out some of the cheapest deals on the market.

Supplier

Tariff

Average Cost

Average Saving*

Notes

1

Scottish Power

Online Fixed Price Energy November 2013

£1,052

£270

Fixed until 31 Oct 2013

2

EDF

Blue + Price Promise September 2011

£1,054

£268

Fixed until September 2013

3

Scottish Power

Online Energy Saver 19

£1,055

£267

Guaranteed discount until 31st July 2013

4

npower

Bill Saver August 2013

£1,061

£261

Guaranteed discounts until 31st August 2013

5

npower

Energy Online October 2013

£1,064

£258

Guaranteed discount on standard prices until 31st October 2013, cancellation fees apply

* against typical bill of £1,345 per year as estimated by Ofgem (including adjustment of £23 for recent price drops). All costs are for a yearly average usage dual fuel household paying by monthly direct debit. Average usage defined by Ofgem as 16,500 kWh p.a. of gas and 3,300 kWh p.a. of electricity.

But there are plenty of other small things you can do to cut the size of your energy bills.

Pay the right way
After you've switched energy companies, make sure you transfer to paperless bills. This will be cheaper than traditional postal bills and paying by direct debit will also save you around £55 for gas and £45 for electricity per year.

Check you're paying the right amount
Energy companies love sending out estimated bills of your usage and these can be hundreds of pounds over what you've actually used. Instead of relying on them to do the work, take your own readings and send them off to make sure you're not overpaying.

If you're not confident doing this yourself, the Meter Readings app (£1.49) will do the hard work for you and if you enter your water and energy readings it will track how much you're using and spending.

Are you claiming everything you're entitled to?
Winter Fuel Payments are available for those aged over 60 and are between £125 and £400 depending on your financial circumstances. Energy companies also offer social tariffs for those who struggle to pay their bills and the website Turn2Us gives a full rundown of what you could be entitled to.

Make sure you're insulated
Good loft and cavity wall insulation could knock around £310 off your energy bills each year and right now a Government initiative means qualifying houses can get this service provided for free. Most programmes are available to everyone but only for a limited time period, so if you want to benefit from free installation, check out our article with deadlines and links for how to apply.

Do you really need the heating on?
When it's bucketing down with rain and freezing, the best antidote is being warm and dry and inside. But instead of whacking the heating on as soon as you feel a chill, first put some extra layers on and wrap up warmly. Turning your thermostat down will lower your energy bills.

Did you turn your heating on in June and are you worried about bigger energy bills? Let us know in the comment box below.

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