Energy News

Annual household energy bills break £1,000 barrier

Wednesday 5 October, 2011

By Martin Fagan

As this summer’s price hikes take effect and companies withdraw cheap tariffs, Brits energy bills are set to soar

Millions of Brits are this week coming to terms with higher energy bills and the withdrawal of cheap online tariffs by the major suppliers.

Over the summer, the “big six” energy companies - British Gas, E.ON, EDF, Scottish Energy, Npower and Scottish & Southern Energy - all increased their gas prices by an average of 17.4% for gas and 10.8% for electricity.

These price rises are due to take effect early this month, but households seeking to switch to a cheaper tariff have been dealt a bitter blow, as the last few months have seen the “big six” axe their cheapest tariffs.

Late last week, EDF scrapped its Fixed Saver v2 plan, which allowed customers to fix prices until September 2012, and yesterday Scottish Power withdrew its Online Fixed Price Energy December 2012 tariff.

Since last Tuesday, the cost of the cheapest dual fuel energy tariff for the average household has increased from £990 to £1,050 a year, according to consumer champion, Which?

Which? says the cheapest rates are currently online discount or variable price tariffs paid by direct debit, but these are not fixed-rate deals and won't protect consumers from price rises that occur during the contract period.

“Most consumers who don't pay by direct debit or manage their accounts online continue to suffer from poor choice and high prices,” said James Tallack, energy policy adviser at Which?

“Tariff structures are baffling and rigged against lower users, bills are approaching record levels, and it's far from clear whether the price we pay is a fair reflection of the underlying cost of energy.”

Which? says that consumers looking to switch to a competitive fixed-rate deal should look at the smaller energy suppliers, such as Ovo.

However, last Friday Co-operative Energy, which lambasted the “big six” for increasing their gas and electricity prices over the summer, announced that it would increase gas prices by 18% and electricity by 11%, from 3 November.