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What will happen to your energy bills in 2009?
Thursday 08 January, 2009
By becca.talbot@consumerchoices.co.uk
Hopes of cheaper UK energy bills have been quashed as a dispute between Russia and Ukraine drives up gas and oil prices.
The government has warned the “big six” energy companies not to use the Russian crisis as an excuse to delay passing on price cuts to UK customers. In The Guardian a Whitehall figure said: “We would expect the energy companies to be responsible and not use this dispute as an excuse to hold off on the price reductions they have talked about which customers are expecting in the spring.”
Gas and oil wholesale costs have rocketed in recent days due to the crisis, prompting fears that energy bills in Britain may stay high. The price of gas hit 73p a therm - up 26% in three days. A barrel of oil is currently $47.
The UK’s second biggest energy supplier Scottish and Southern Energy (SEE) said in November last year that it was considering cutting fuel prices amid growing anger from customers and consumer groups, but prices have yet to be cut.
Mounting concerns about the UK’s energy security came after Russia finally halted all shipments to Ukraine yesterday. The problems have also rekindled a long-running debate in the UK about its vulnerability as North Sea gas and oil supplies are rapidly running out. Britain currently imports 39% of its energy, and over the next 10 years, this is set to rise to 56%.
Gareth Kloet, of Confused.com said: “Whilst the UK only imports around 2-3% of its energy from Russia, the recent crisis highlights the need to secure our own supply capabilities, as almost 40% of our total supply is imported from Europe.”
There have been hints of price drops, with British Gas (www.britishgas.co.uk) introducing its WebSaver 1 tariff, and Scottish Power (www.scottishpower.co.uk) reducing the price of its PriceSure tariff by 10%.
Chris Eagle, commercial manager at EnergyChoices.co.uk said: “No matter what happens to price fluctuations, the best way for you to keep your energy bills down is to switch to the best tariff for your needs.”
He continued: “You may think that switching energy providers is difficult and time consuming, but as long as you know either how much you are currently paying or you know your actual consumption, with only a few clicks on our online energy comparison tool could make considerable savings.”
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