Switch now or wait and see?

British Gas has become the first large energy supplier to break ranks and cut prices, taking 10pc off its standard gas tariff.

The cut will come into effect on February 19 and means that the average British Gas dual fuel bill will drop from £1,328 to £1,240, a saving of £88 a year.

However, experts said the cut nowhere near made up for recent rises in the cost of gas. British Gas increased its prices by 46pc in 2008. Some also advised consumers to wait and see whether other energy providers dropped their prices before switching to a cheaper tariff. It is expected that other providers are likely to announce similar cuts.

"Now that Britain’s biggest supplier has made the move, other suppliers will be under pressure to follow suit. We are sure to see a flurry of pricing announcements," said Ann Robinson, head of consumer policy at financial comparison site uSwitch.

However, she added that the cuts were likely to be "too little, and too late" to help consumers with this winter’s fuel bills.

The British Gas cut means that its WebSaver tariff, which is guaranteed to be 10pc below its ordinary tariff, will be the cheapest option for many customers across the country.

Gareth Kloet, head of utilities at website Confused.com, advised customers to switch now, despite the expected price cuts. "We’ve waited too long for cuts," he said. "We’ve seen suppliers tinkering with tariffs, but this is really good news for customers."

His company provided the table (right, click to enlarge) of the best deals in each area of the country.

Watchdog Consumer Focus welcomed the price cut, saying British Gas had "done the right thing". "We will now turn the heat up on the other five companies that are keeping prices sky high," said chief executive Ed Mayo.

Meanwhile, Age Concern said that, unless there were further price cuts from all suppliers, "many of the poorest pensioners will continue struggle to pay their energy bills".

A spokesman for British Gas said: "Wholesale prices have come down enough for us to begin lowering prices for our customers. We'll continue to watch wholesale prices carefully and if they go down again significantly we will pass this on to our customers."

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