As a result of wholesale energy prices falling, ScottishPower energy prices have followed suit so far in 2023.
All energy suppliers operating in the UK are subject to Ofgem's energy price cap, and ScottishPower is no exception. The cap rate sets the maximum price suppliers can charge for average use on their standard variable tariffs. This hasn't been something that the majority of customers have needed to worry about because most people used to fix and switch to avoid being put onto a standard variable tariff.
However, when wholesale energy prices rose significantly towards the end of 2021, leading to a rise in the level of the price cap, suppliers withdrew fixed deals from the market. This meant that gradually, as customers' fixed deals ended, there wasn't anything to switch to, so there are now over 25 million households on standard variable tariffs with the price cap level eventually reaching over £4,000 per year for an average use household.
The government therefore introduced the Energy Price Guarantee, which effectively worked as a proxy price cap set at £2,500 per year for average use households paying by direct debit. Now, though, the price cap has been set at £2,074, so the Energy Price Guarantee will move back (while still running in the background at a higher level of £3,000) and the price cap will set the unit rates of standard variable tariffs again.
The table below shows how the price cap and Energy Price Guarantee have defined British Gas's standard variable tariff prices over the years.
Time period | Price cap level | Energy Price Guarantee level | ScottishPower standard variable price |
---|---|---|---|
April 2019 - October 2019 | £1,254 | N/A | £1,254 |
October 2019 - April 2020 | £1,179 | N/A | £1,177 |
April 2020 - October 2020 | £1,162 | N/A | £1,162 |
October 2020 - April 2021 | £1,042 | N/A | £1,041 |
April 2021 - October 2021 | £1,138 | N/A | £1,138 |
October 2021 - April 2022 | £1,277 | N/A | £1,277 |
April 2022 - October 2022 | £1,971 | N/A | £1,971 |
October 2022 - January 2023 | £3,549 | £2,500 | N/A (SVT capped at £2,500 under EPG) |
January 2023 - April 2023 | £4,279 | £2,500 | N/A (SVT capped at £2,500 under EPG) |
April 2023 - July 2023 | £3,280 | £2,500 | N/A (SVT capped at £2,500 under EPG) |
July 2023 - October 2023 | £2,074 | £3,000 | TBC |
Highlighted rows denote the periods where the Energy Price Guarantee was subsidising customers' energy bills.
There are very few options for customers at the moment, but with the price cap level dropping to £2,074 from July 2023, suppliers may bring some fixed deals back to the market that customers could choose to switch to. Confirm your details with Uswitch below so you're ready to act as soon as deals are available again.
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No energy suppliers have changed their prices in 2023 so far.
You can read about previous price changes from the rest of the big six below:
The energy price cap is reviewed four times a year in February, May, August and October, so there's time for prices to rise again. While we know they will come down in July, they're currently predicted to rise again slightly in the autumn and winter.
See more information about ScottishPower, including price change history and customer satisfaction reviews on Uswitch's dedicated ScottishPower supplier page.
Having trouble understanding your ScottishPower bill? Read our helpful energy bill breakdown to cut through the confusion.
Learn more2022 information and supplier ratings for ScottishPower, one of the UK's big six energy suppliers. Everything you need to know, including reviews, satisfaction surveys and recent price changes compared to other gas and electricity suppliers.
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