Gas and electricity bills are set to rise by £132 per year this summer, according to a price comparison website.

That’s because 16 fixed dual fuel tariffs will expire at the end of next week which will affect annual household energy bills.

A total of 12 of those will result in customers being automatically rolled onto a standard variable tariff which is more expensive than the deal they currently have.

The rise of gas and electricity bills could be even higher in some regions such as First Utility’s customers in Norweb, with a £380 increase, Gocompare claims.

However there are also some cases when the expiration of a fixed deal could reduce energy bills as the supplier’s standard variable tariff is cheaper. Customers could see a £44.50 cut, it adds.

Ben Wilson,Product Manager at Gocompare said: “It’s easy to forget about energy tariffs when our usage drops in the summer. However when it comes to your gas and electricity bills, taking your eye off the ball could cost you hundreds of pounds.

“Finding a new provider online is easy to do and only takes a few minutes. At the moment, the energy market is extremely competitive and switching households could land themselves a tariff that costs less than £800 a year. So whether you’re on an expiring tariff or can’t remember the last time you switched it’s definitely worth getting online and seeing if you could save this summer.”

According to research, energy consumers supplied by the Big Six are paying £4 billion more for their gas and electricity.