25/07/2011
Following recent price hikes from both British Gas and Scottish Power, another firm has said that it will be hitting its customers with the highest levels of charges they will ever have seen, as it puts up its rates from September.
Scottish and Southern Energy says that it has no option but to pass on the increase in charges with the new rates applicable from September, but said it will not inflict any further hikes on its customers for a minimum of 12 months.
The firm has said that the price of electricity will rise by around 11% whilst gas is set to climb even higher with an increase of 18%. The new prices will take effect from 14 September and the company says it has calculated that its typical customer will pay an extra £171 for a combined account. This means the average household bill for a Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) customer will now be £1,265 per annum – the largest average annual bill ever from the firm.
However, SSE has said that there are three external factors which influence price and over which it has no control.
The first is the energy network cost which SSE says is set by Ofgem, but has increased by 14% in the last 12 months.
The second factor is the amount of money energy firms are being told they must plough into green projects such as the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, as well as subsidies for vulnerable households like the Warm Home Discount. SSE says its contribution has risen by a compulsory 11% in the last year.
The third factor is the one we hear the most about which is the rising cost of energy – gas and electricity have gone up by 40% and 23% since the last SSE price hike.
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