Scot Power hikes its gas bills by 19pc
UTILITY firm Scottish Power will hike its domestic power and gas tariffs from 1 August in response to rising wholesale energy prices, it announced yesterday, becoming the first of the power companies set to raise household bills this summer.
Gas bills for Scottish Power customers will increase by an average of 19 per cent, while power bills will be 10 per cent more expensive, a rise that will affect 2.4m UK households.
“Prices for gas and electricity have increased significantly since the end of last year and continuing unrest in global energy markets means future prices are volatile,” said Scottish Power’s retail director Raymond Jack.
He said costly government programmes for meeting environmental and social targets and high transmission expenses were also reasons for the tariff rises.
The utility’s 70,000 most vulnerable customers can receive a discount on bills through a dedicated scheme.
The company also said it was investing £4bn between 2010 and 2012 into renewable energy, smart grid technology and upgrading power networks.
MPs and energy regulator Ofgem have criticised Britain’s six largest utilities for passing on wholesale price gains to customers more quickly than falling prices.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: “These price hikes from Scottish Power will be a shock for its millions of customers already struggling with the rising cost of living, and warnings from other suppliers suggest that more bad news is to come.
“This is yet another example of the Big Six blaming the wholesale energy market for increases to domestic customers’ bills, but energy companies have a lot of work to do to convince consumers that energy prices are fair.”
Consumer Focus head of energy Audrey Gallacher added: “Companies have been softening customers up for price rises for months but customers will shocked at the scale of this rise.
“Every household in the country will now be bracing themselves for impact.”