Energy prices rise by 9%

by Mark Vickery on 15 November 2010  |  5 comments
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There has been a lot of energy news in the press over the last week. What does it mean for you?

Scottish & Southern Energy announced a whopping 9% gas price rise for 3.6 million customers, with British Gas quickly following suit on Friday with a 7% rise for both gas and electricity.

However, EDF have announced that they have frozen their standard prices until at least March 2011, painting a very different picture. So what is going on?

EDF claims that its customers on standard tariffs will save on average £70 compared against standard SSE dual fuel prices, which will rise by approximately £67 for gas alone.

However, in both cases we are talking about standard tariffs, which can cost up to £300 per year more than the cheapest online tariffs, which currently start from just under £900.

For example, the average SSE customer on standard tariff will pay £1,164 after the 1st December price rises. And even EDF’s “frozen” standard tariff is around £200 per year more than its cheapest current offer, the Online S@ver v7 with limited £100 cashback offer.

On the other hand, the British Gas price rise will affect online tariffs too, meaning an average rise of £72 a year for dual fuel tariffs. However, the company assures us that their 300,000 most vulnerable customers will be protected from the rise.

Shockingly, nearly half of UK households are still on expensive standard tariffs, when they could be taking advantage of cheaper online tariffs instead.

Unfortunately none of us can control the gas and electricity prices that providers charge. But we can shop around to find a better tariff. Here is a comparison of this week’s top 10 tariffs:

Cheapest tariffs by supplier

* Price includes £100 cashback ** Post-price rise

Based on customer payment by MDD, Dual Fuel,  20,500kWh Gas and 3,300 kWh Elec. This table only shows gas and electricity tariffs alone and does not include bundled products. Prices correct as of 15th November 2010