uSwitch gas & electricity news September 2006

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) have today followed the rest of the UK’s major suppliers in announcing a second increase in gas and electricity prices, although customers will not see their prices go up until 1st January 2007.

Scottish and Southern Energy will be increasing prices across all their brands; Atlantic Electric and Gas, Scottish Hydro Electric, Swalec and Southern Electric. Gas prices will increase by 12.2% (£65 a year) and electricity prices will increase by 9.4% (£32 a year). uSwitch.com has calculated the average Scottish and Southern Energy bill will increase to £962* a year.

The news will be a blow for customers who had hoped that recent falls in wholesale gas prices might spare them from another price rise.Alan Tattersall, uSwitch.com Director of Home Service commented: “Many people may view this rise as opportunistic, as wholesale gas prices have started falling. In any case, this announcement comes as no surprise as Scottish and Southern Energy are the only major supplier who have not increased prices since May this year and who made a price promise not to raise their tariffs for the remainder of 2006”.

Alistair Philips-Davies, Energy Supply Director of SSE offered this reassurance to customers: "If, as everyone hopes, falls in wholesale energy prices continue and are sustained, we will move as quickly as we can to reverse the price rises of recent years."

uSwitch.com has updated the prices for Scottish and Southern Energy plans in our gas and electricity comparison and switching service.

* Annual bills are based on a medium usage (20,500 kWhs of gas, 3,300 kWhs of electricity) customer, paying quarterly by cash or cheque on receipt of bill, on standard tariffs, averaged across all regions.

Yet another miserable day for gas and electricity customers with npower announcing today, 7Th September, that they will raise prices for the third time in 2006 because of “massive increases in wholesale costs”.

The supplier’s domestic customers will pay an extra 17.2% for their gas and 9.9% for their electricity. The price rise will be effective from 1st October 2006. npower’s current online plan is not affected by the price rise.

An npower spokesperson said “Again we are the last of the major energy suppliers to raise our prices – npower customers pay lower prices for longer.”

While Ann Robinson from uSwitch.com commented, “Today’s price increase by npower comes as no huge surprise, yet the disappointing inevitability of it will fail to cushion the blow to their customers.”

The price rise follows a recent spate of price rises from all the major suppliers. EDF Energy, British Gas, ScottishPower and Powergen have raised prices twice in 2006. Only Scottish and Southern Energy who raised prices in May 2006 have promised customers they will not see their prices rise again in 2006.

uSwitch.com has updated the prices for npower plans in our gas and electricity comparison and switching service.