Energy Bill Payers Stretched to Limit but Taking Action
11 Oct, 2012, 09:00 BST
CHESTER, England, October 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- More than half of Brits said SSE price hike made them think about switching
- A third say a rise in monthly outgoings of £50 or less would push them to financial breaking point
British bill payers have been sparked into action to combat the rising cost of energy. Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) threw down the gauntlet in August, being the first of the 'Big Six' to hike its gas and electricity prices and with speculation there may be price rises from other providers, people are fighting back, says MoneySupermarket.com.
Britain's number one comparison site conducted a poll of almost 1,700 site users on their reaction to the price hike. Over half (52 per cent) said they would look to switch to a cheaper energy tariff. Of those, 28 per cent had already applied for a new tariff, 11 per cent planned to do so within a week, while another 13 per cent said they would switch providers at some point. Typical savings by using MoneySupermarket to change energy products is £200 - a tidy sum, especially as a tenth of those polled said they aren't tempted to switch to a cheaper deal as they don't think the savings are worth it.
Scott Byrom, Energy channel manager at MoneySupermarket.com said: "It's a bleak outlook for those already stretched to their affordability tipping point by rising household bills. SSE is the only provider to show its hand so far, but unfortunately a round of price hikes now would mean bills increase just in time for the more costly winter months when energy usage is at its highest. Worryingly over a third of the UK adult population (36 per cent) believe a rise in monthly outgoings of £50 or less would push them to financial breaking point. Of these, one in five say they are now sitting on the brink, finding it impossible to meet their monthly bills and costs**. The recent increases to energy bills are certainly going to push some people very close to the limit of what they can afford.
"Anyone hoping to keep their energy bills low in a turbulent energy market should opt for the best value fixed price tariff, currently offered by OVO Energy. Its New Energy Plan product costs £1,088 a year on average with prices fixed for 12 months from your start date. This tariff isn't available in the Scottish Hydro region however, the cheapest provider in this region is SSE. Its Fixed Discount tariff costs £1,149.71 on average with prices fixed until April 2014. While we have not yet hit winter in earnest, the longer, colder nights are certainly drawing in so customers languishing on their provider's standard tariff should act now to ensure they switch onto the best deal in time."
Notes to Editors:
Average, standard and fixed tariffs:
Average
Average Saving
Standard Fixed vs
Provider Tariff Online Tariffs Fixed Tariff Standard
British Gas GBP1,240.07 GBP1,120.29 GBP1,299.10 -GBP59.03
Online Variable Fixed Price
August 2013 May 2014
EDF Energy GBP1,202.38 N/A GBP1,143.34 GBP59.04
Blue+ Price Promise
May 2014
E.ON GBP1,222.65 GBP1,123.71 GBP1,158.74 GBP63.91
Energy Discount Fixed 1 Year
npower GBP1,243.48 GBP1,071.71 GBP1,157.00 GBP171.77
Energy Online Go Fix
January 2014 January 2014
Scottish
Power GBP1,349.42 N/A GBP1,139.98 GBP209.44
Online Fixed Price
Energy (April 2014)
SSE GBP1,354.20 N/A GBP1,262.20 GBP92.00
(wef Fixed Discount
15.10.2012) December 2014
First Utility N/A GBP1,127.92 N/A -
iSave v11
OVO Energy N/A GBP1,088.00 -
New energy fixed
(not available in
Scottish Hydro region)
Average GBP1,251.60 GBP1,110.91 GBP1,181.89 GBP89.52
Sourced by http://www.moneysupermarket.com 09.10.2012
* Will the latest energy price hike prompt you to switch to a cheaper deal?
Yes - I have already applied for a new tariff - 27.7%
Yes - I plan to do so in the next week - 11.2%
Yes - I will at some point - 12.6%
No - I'm tied in to my current tariff - 22.1%
No - It's too much hassle - 9.3%
No - The savings aren't worth it - 10.2%
I don't know - 6.9%
Total votes: 1685
** Research conducted by Opinium Research between 13th - 16th July 2012 amongst 2,011 nationally representative adults aged 18+.
Price rises announced by UK energy companies Summer 2011
Electricity Average
Gas increase increase Standard Date Date
Provider (%) (%) tariff announced effective
Scottish Power 19 10 GBP1,391.21 07/06/2011 01/08/2011
British Gas 18 16 GBP1,286.04 08/07/2011 18/08/2011
Scottish and
Southern 18 11 GBP1,265.00 21/07/2011 14/09/2011
E.ON 18 11.4 GBP1,254.55 05/08/2011 13/09/2011
npower 16 7.2 GBP1,289.00 16/08/2011 01/10/2011
EDF Energy 15.4 4.5 GBP1,241.00 15/09/2011 10/11/2011
Average 17.4 10 GBP1,287.80
Price decreases announced by UK energy companies January 2012
Gas Electricity Average
decrease decrease Standard Date
Provider (%) (%) tariff announced Date effective
12th
British Gas N/A 5% GBP1,260.56 January Immediately
11th
EDF Energy 5% N/A GBP1,202.38 January 7th February
16th
E.ON N/A 6% GBP1,222.65 January 27th February
13th
npower 5% N/A GBP1,243.48 January 1st February
Scottish and 12th
Southern 4.5% N/A GBP1,229.95 January 26th March
Scottish Power GBP1,391.21
Average 4.8% 5.5% GBP1,258.37
Price rises announced by UK energy companies Summer 2012
Average
Gas increase Electricity Standard Date Date
Provider (%) increase (%) tariff announced effective
SSE 9 9 GBP1,354.20 22/08/2012 15/10/2012
Average 9 9 GBP1,354.20
MoneySupermarket.com compares (at 30th Aug 2012)
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SOURCE MoneySupermarket.com