Ed Miliband's promise of an 18-month price freeze on energy bills in 2015 has prompted as much scepticism as excitement.

But why wait to control your gas and electricity costs?

Clare Francis, consumer finance expert at MoneySuperMarket.com said: "You can fix now, lock into 2013 prices and start saving immediately. With a further round of price hikes expected in the coming months, the time to act is now."

Mark Todd, director of independent price comparison site energyhelpline, backed this, saying: "Suppliers already offer tariffs that fix prices for up to four years and consumers can use a price comparison service today to fix their price for four winters until 2017."

Switching levels in the energy industry are at an all-time low, with only 16% of consumers changing supplier last year - possibly because many who moved in the past have switching fatigue. Research from uSwitch.com last week found almost half of consumers afraid that they will have to go it alone when they change provider, and 38% believing switching is difficult (including 7% who feared losing their supply and 3% who believed their garden would have to be dug up). However, 85% of those who have achieved at least one switch said they found the process easy.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: "More needs to be done to simplify the market as it's clear consumers are crying out for a streamlined process with better guarantees. Ofgem has made bold statements that its retail market review will go far to make the market simpler, clearer and fairer for consumers, but the proof will be in the pudding."

More than one-third (35%) of consumers said they would be more likely to change if the process was quicker, while nine out of 10 agreed it should be speeded up so they could get a better deal, according to a survey published last week by First Utility. It has launched a Fix the Switch campaign, which aims to reduce the switching timetable from five weeks to just one day.

Jeremy Cryer, energy spokesman at website gocompare.com, commented: "If banks can do it, why can't the energy industry?"

Cryer said a nationwide price freeze is probably not the way to go: "If we are going to have a competitive energy market, providers need to be able to set prices and make investment decisions for the future. The role of government and the regulators should be to moderate the behaviour of providers, encourage best practice and protect the consumer."

Freezing your price can also be a gamble, Cryer said. "Fixing your energy bills is a great idea when the market is volatile and prices are going up and down, but it's not such a good idea when those prices are stable, as you pay a premium to fix.

"A good signal for when it's best to fix is when good deals and good tariffs start disappearing from the market - which they have been in recent weeks. And as winter approaches, it's likely the wholesale price will rise again as demand for gas and electricity increases, so again, that's a good time to fix."

Francis said: "The energy companies have said loud and clear that price hikes are on their way. The only unknown factor is exactly when these will happen, although it is likely we will see announcements in the next few weeks."

Three in five people (60%) across the UK mistakenly believe that the dominant energy supplier in their region offers the best deal, according to a poll by price comparison website UKPower.co.uk.

In southern Scotland, it recently found an average of £194 a year difference between those on the standard tariffs of Scottish Gas (for gas) and ScottishPower (for electricity) and the best available alternative on the market. For the old Scottish Hydro region in the Highlands - where SSE is now the dominant supplier - the difference is £163. Even Scots on the cheapest dual fuel tariff currently available from ScottishPower or SSE would still be at least £35 a year better off by switching.

Scott Byrom at the website said: "Suppliers without a strong presence in a particular area will try harder to win your business by offering a much cheaper deal."

According to moneysupermarket.com, across the market the cheapest fixed deal currently available is Fix & Save from M&S Energy, which would save those on typical standard tariffs an average £204. It said: "However, the M&S product is only fixed until September 2014 … An alternative fixed deal is npower's Price Protector March 2017 which will shield customers from price rises for the next four winters, although in the short term it costs more than other deals."

It reminds people that making simple changes around the home to cut consumption, such as turning the thermostat down a couple of degrees, can also result in significant savings over the year.