Energy price cuts part of “phoney price war”
Citizens Advice has today revealed that Npower, E.ON and Scottish Power are charging customers on their standard tariff over £200 more than their cheapest available tariff.
Npower, who have cut their gas prices by 5.1%, has the largest difference between its standard and cheapest tariffs. E.ON, Scottish Power, and British Gas have also all recently announced energy price cuts.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“Energy firms are engaging in a phoney price war. Token energy price cuts to standard tariffs do not reflect the big savings that energy firms can pass on to households. Npower customers could save as much as £240 by switching to their cheapest available tariff but they are cutting prices by a fraction of this.
“Cheap deals are great for customers and any price cut for energy customers struggling to make ends meet is welcome, but it should not be only the savviest consumers who benefit from the four year low in wholesale energy costs. Many who currently do not switch are those whose finances are the most stretched, including older people and low-income families. Customers on energy prepayment meters can pay a yearly average of £80 or more for a second-class service. Energy suppliers must pass on savings to all their customers, not just those able to switch to get the best deals.”
The differences between the cheapest and standard variable dual fuel tariffs for each of the Big Six energy firms from 20 Jan:
Energy supplier | Cheapest tariff (£) | Standard tariff (£) | % difference | £ difference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Npower | 962.66 | 1204.91 | 25.27 | 242.25 |
E.ON | 922.99 | 1145.12 | 24.15 | 222.13 |
Scottish Power | 970 | 1199.12 | 23.67 | 229.12 |
EDF Energy | 998.73 | 1163.89 | 16.57 | 165.16 |
SSE | 1174.24 | 1186.27 | 1.03 | 12.03 |
British Gas | 1183.2 | 1192.97 | 0.86 | 9.77 |
Citizens Advice is urging customers to call up their supplier and make sure they are on the cheapest deal available.
Notes to editors:
- These figures are Citizens Advice analysis of large supplier’s dual fuel tariff prices for medium users paying by direct debit on 20 January 2015, with source data provided by price-comparison site Energy Linx. The figure for Npower’s standard tariff does not reflect its subsequent announced price cut of 5.1 per cent.
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