Switch your energy deal by the end of this month or risk missing out on savings of over £300

 By the end of February over a quarter of a million people will be at risk of overpaying on gas and electricity. Make sure you're not one of them and switch energy deal now.

Related: Here's how you could be getting £25 a week towards your energy bill this winter

January and February is already a tricky time financially, with the Christmas splurge still hanging over households, so don't make it any more challenging by paying too much on your energy bills.

Switch energy deal now and save over £300

It is around this time of year that many cheaper fixed-rate deals come to an end. A total of 77 cheap deals will be coming to an end over the next six weeks.

If you take your eye off the ball when your current energy deal does end you could be catapulted onto your provider's most expensive standard energy tariff.

For example, if you are on EDF Energy's Blue+Heating Protect tariff, paying an average of £1,042 a year, when the deal finishes this month you will be automatically moved to a standard tariff paying around £1,177 a year.

Price comparison website Energy Helpline has worked out that each customer could be hit with an average price increase of £72.50 a year. However, if customers switch energy deal to a new cheaper fixed-rate deal, they could save an average of £334 a year.

All you have to do is make sure you have started the switching process before your current deal comes to an end.

'If your current rate expires at the end of this month, so long as you have started the switching process before then your existing provider can't hit you with its standard variable rate,' Mark Todd, director at Energy helpline told thisismoney.co.uk.

'This means you can arrange a new low-cost deal and continue to pay your current rate right up until the moment your new rate starts,' he adds.

The earliest that you can start the process of switching energy deals is 49 days. If your current energy deal ends in February, don't put it off. Start shopping around today.

Related: Energy vampire – we explain what one is and why it could be costing you £6,500

Over the last six months, some of the lowest energy deals available have become even cheaper. It's never been a better time to bag an energy bargain.