Now that electricity and gas markets are fully competitive, there are different products being offered; different ways of paying; products aimed at disadvantaged customers; and special offers if you take both electricity and gas from the one company.

As a householder, it can be very difficult knowing which product or offer is best for you, whether you need to change supplier and how to do it.

Thankfully, help is at hand. The consumer watchdog, energywatch, monitors the energy company products and prices for householders and provides up-to-date information that can help to make sense of it all. The information energywatch collects on gas and electricity prices is made available in regularly updated tables and they also provide links to an approved list of companies that offer price comparison services. All of this can take the hard work out of making the decisions yourself.