Combined Gas and Electric deals

Any utilities company with both a gas and an electricity supply license is in a position to offer its customers dual fuel deals whereby they provide both your domestic electric and gas supply.

There are two main benefits to the consumer in choosing a dual fuel deal - price and convenience. Many suppliers offer a substantial discount to customers who choose to get both their electricity and their gas from them. Also, it can be a lot more convenient to get both electricity and gas from the same company, as you only have one bill to pay rather than two.

If your home has no gas appliances, there is no reason to go for a dual fuel deal, and you should simply search for the cheapest electricity supplier.

If you have a dual fuel account, your energy supplier may still bill you separately for your electricity and gas bills. This makes things a lot tidier if you switch suppliers, as you can keep your past gas and electric bills separate. Some suppliers do provide you with a single bill for both gas and electric, which at least keeps things simple, and this option is more suitable for those who value convenience over flexibility.

While you can pay for your separate fuels using different payment methods in a duel fuel contract, without losing any of the cost benefits of such an arrangements, this is markedly less convenient than paying both the same way.

While dual fuel deals can often work out being the cheapest option, this is by no means a given. So if you are determined to get the cheapest deal on your household energy supply, it may be worth your while investigating separate single fuel contracts alongside the dual fuel options. One of the drawbacks of dual fuel contracts is that if you get behind with your payments for either of your utilities, you run the risk of having them both cut off by the one company. If you find yourself in this situation, help is available as energy companies are legally required to offer support to customers who are not coping with payments. This could take the form of an extended payment plan, or by installing a prepayment meter, so it may never come to this.

British Gas is the nation's favourite cheap gas and electric supplier, boiler service provider, and energy efficiency advisor