Scottish Power to cut gas prices
20/01/2015
Scottish Power has become the third of the “Big Six” energy firms to announce a price cut, after Eon and British Gas announced their cuts earlier this month.
Scottish Power have agreed to cut their prices by 4.8% from 20th February, meaning customers on their standard tariff will make a saving of £33 on their annual gas bill. The reduction will effect 1.1 million of its two million customers, as it will not effect customers on fixed rate tariffs. Scottish Power said it would continue to keep its prices under review.
Wholesale gas prices have fallen by around 20% over the past few months, and consumer groups are putting pressure on energy firms to pass on the savings to customers. So far, British Gas have announced that they will cut prices by 5% from the 27th February, and German-owned supplier Eon agreed to reduce their tariffs by 3.5%- a cut that has already taken effect.
Scottish Power's chief executive of retail and generation, Neil Clitheroe, said:
"We are pleased to be able to pass on this price reduction to our customers, which will see the average annual gas bill on our standard tariff reduce by £33.
"Today’s decision has been made to benefit our customers and keep our prices competitive.
"We will continue to keep our prices under review. Our pricing reflects all of the costs that contribute to a customer’s bill.
"The wholesale price of energy accounts for half of a customer’s gas bill, but non-energy costs such as transmission and distribution networks and environmental and social obligations remain unaffected by any wholesale energy price movements."
The remaining three of the Big Six suppliers - SSE, NPower and EDF Energy - are all thought to be preparing to announce similar gas price cuts over coming weeks.
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