Last week, npower announced that it would increase prices by 5.3% — or £64 per year — on average for gas and electricity customers on dual fuel, variable rate tariffs. Those on gas-only tariffs will see a 4.4% increase; those on electricity-only tariffs will see a 6.2% hike.
These rate increases takes effect 17 June 2018, at which time npower will have the most expensive big six standard energy tariff.
This increase will impact around 40% of npower's customers on the supplier's variable rate standard tariffs — around 1 million total. In line with previous energy price hike announcements, npower has blamed increases in policy costs and rising wholesale prices.
The news comes after several previous price rise announcements from four of the big six:
The only big six supplier yet to announce a rise is SSE.
Claire Osborne, Uswitch.com energy expert, says: “npower has reclaimed its top spot as the most expensive big six standard tariff.
"The average £64 rise is the equivalent of almost three weeks spending on energy. npower customers who don't want to suffer the same fate as households on British Gas, EDF, and Scottish Power standard tariffs have a simple choice to make: stay on a rip-off tariff and watch their bank balance shrink even further, or compare, switch and save up to £491. With the recent wholesale cost increases, now is the time to switch and lock in a fixed deal to protect yourself against future price rises.
“Energy suppliers haven’t been afraid to increase prices in spite of the threat of an energy price cap - perhaps because they’re confident that customers will mistakenly think a cap protects them, so they won’t switch once it’s in place.”
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Energy experts at Uswitch believe that the impending price cap has had an effect on energy costs ahead of its implementation. Suppliers seem to be rushing to hike prices before they can't, in the hopes that customers won't switch away, instead languishing on the worst-value tariffs.
Read more about the proposed energy price caps here.
If you're a variable rate tariff customer with npower, British Gas, EDF Energy or ScottishPower — including those whose fixed energy plans have expired — you should run an energy comparison to find a cheaper deal.
It takes just minutes to switch. All you need is your postcode and a recent energy bill (if you don't have a bill handy, you can answer a couple questions about your lifestyle instead). You can move on to a fixed rate energy deal to protect yourself from future price hikes — you could save up to £491!*.
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