St Vincent de Paul says that just a few minutes on the phone or the internet can save the average Canberra family up to $340 a year from their gas and electricity bills.

Households with their own solar power generation set-ups will also be able to capitalise on the growing competition in the ACT energy market from the end of 2016, when they too will be able to shop around for the best deal.

A new report from Vinnies shows big savings are possible for existing ActewAGL customers who can switch providers or simply stay with Canberra's dominant player but demand a better deal.

St Vincent de Paul have been tracking gas and electricity prices in markets around Australia since 2009 and their latest report on the ACT shows a typical household in Canberra spending about $1750 a year on electricity and about $1650 on gas.

But it does not have to be that much, according to Vinnies' Policy and Research manager Gavin Dufty, with three energy companies vying for custom in the territory."

"The other players have been tentatively in the market over the past three years," Mr Dufty said.

"Origin and Energy Australia have come and gone, but there haven't been a consistent presence within the ACT so this is the first time we've seen the three players sort of competing.

"Competition is good for those (consumers) who are active in seeking a better deal, but for those who don't seek the best deal, the potential for them to pay above the odds is there.

"So we're encouraging people to make sure that any savings that are there end up in their pockets and not the pockets of shareholders."

In a statement supplied on Friday, ActewAGL warned consumers that price was not everything and they should look at other factors such as service quality before making decisions.

Energy Australia said it was "broadly comfortable" with the findings of the report but said that should not be taken as an endorsement.

Mr Dufty says making big cuts to household energy bills can be simple.

"If you've never done anything, if you're stuck on an ActewAGL standing offer and you're a dual-fuel household, by shopping smart you can save yourself up to $300," he said.

"So that's about 300 bucks for about 45 minutes work.

"If you've done nothing, jump on the phone to ActewAGL, say 'gimme better' and you'll get a better offer,"

"If you want to be a bit more adventurous, go to the Energy Made Easy website (https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/) and do a little bit more detailed shopping and you'll be able to get an even better deal.

Mr Dufty also said consumers who take advantage of the ACT's popular solar feed-in tariff could also be in line for savings from the end of 2016 when standard agreements begin to expire.

"The feed-in tariff, they fall off at the end of this year and we'd like to draw the attention of solar households to this," he said.

"They need to be shopping around to get the best deals for themselves, to get the best value out of those solar systems, because people may not be aware that there could be better offers around.

"The spread we've looked at there, is about $250, so if you haven't done anything and you're prepared to shop around, there are big savings to be made there."