Website shows how to cut power bills

A NEW internet-based price comparison guide has been set up by energy watchdog Médiateur National de l’Energie to allow users to find cheaper electricity and gas prices – and to publicise that people can change suppliers.

The simple-to-use guide prompts users for information on location, annual power consumption and their power plan direct from their power bill (facture). Users fill in boxes on-screen with details from the bill and the guide calculates the best available offers from the companies which have signed up to the scheme.

All the major national energy supply firms have supplied their rates, with the exception of Enercoop.

Energy mediator Denis Merville says the French market is very complicated and two-thirds of people do not know they can change energy supplier from the giants EDF and GDF – and four out of five people do not how to go about it.

However, consumer group UFC-Que Choisir says the guide pushes people away from rates set by the government and once these vanish the power firms will increase their charges.

How to use the guide

Go to www.energie-mediateur.fr and click on Le comparateur d’offres

Scroll down and insert postcode

Decide on offers to compare (gas, electricity or both)

Insert details of power usage. For electricity, your bill will detail what puissance tariff you are on – eg 9kVA for an apartment with four people and electric heating; for gas insert the number of kilowatt/hours kWh used

Choose how to list the results

Choose the offer that suits and get details or compare with another offer