A price war being pursued by the energy companies has of course cheered customers.

British Gas and E. ON have trimmed down their dual tariffs. As British Gas Unveiled Web Saver 4, pricing £993 per year on an average, E. ON released FixOnline 3, which costs £984 per year, cheaper by £10 than Web Saver 4. Under the E. ON tariff plan customers can fix their prices until 1 Dec. 2010. It may be noted here that earlier in 2009, British Gas slashed gas as well as electricity bills by 10 per cent after lifting them by 26 per cent in 2008.

Marples, an energy expert said, "To see two of the big six suppliers launch competitive energy plans in as many days is great news, both for consumers and the market."

As per some estimates, average standard energy plan and online plan costs £1,239 and £1,015 respectively per year. EDF's Online v5 tariff is a little cheaper than Websaver 4, but it is not made available in London and some other parts of the country.