Nearly 1M households struggling to pay essential bills like energy
Nearly one million households are unable to cover the cost of two or more essential bills, a new study has found.
bills
British Gas freezes prices, ScottishPower goes the other way
British Gas is to extend a price freeze for customers on its standard energy tariff until August, while ScottishPower has announced a 7.8% rise in standard gas and electricity bills.
Homes could save £90 per year by 2030 with power grid overhaul, says think-tank
An overhaul of the power grid system in the UK could encourage smarter, cleaner technologies and save households up to £90 a year by 2030, a think-tank suggested.
Households ‘pay extra £300 a year by not switching to cheaper energy deal’
Households across the UK could end up collectively spending £2.2 billion more than they need to on energy over the next four months, according to analysis.
Landlords making millions renting out freezing houses, says citizens advice
Hundreds of thousands of tenants are living in cold, draughty houses, faced with higher than average energy bills, a study has found.
Energy supplier switching could save Scots £300m this year, say campaigners
Scottish households could save £300 million this year by switching their energy supplier, according to campaigners.
Green power subsidies ‘still adding too much to energy bills’
Controls on green power subsidies, which are set to add £110 to household energy bills by 2020, have not delivered value for money, a report has warned.
Gap between big six energy tariffs and cheapest deals has ‘increased’
The gap between average Big Six energy tariffs and the cheapest deals on the market has increased significantly since the competition watchdog began its investigation into the sector, figures show.
Energy customers still ‘baffled and bewildered’ despite bills shake-up
Six out of 10 consumers still do not understand their energy bill a full two years after the introduction of reforms designed to make the information simpler and clearer.
Shop around for energy deals, says watchdog
Energy firms are overcharging customers and bills should come down for the vast majority of people, the boss of regulator Ofgem has said. The watchdog’s chief executive, Dermot Nolan, said “we really should be seeing bigger retail cuts” due to falling wholesale energy prices.
Npower to pay £26million in fines
Ofgem has fined Npower £26million over alleged billing and complaint handling failings.
Consumers urged to switch to cheaper energy suppliers
Campaigners are calling on householders to help elderly friends and relatives find cheaper energy deals after finding that almost nine in 10 bill payers did not switch in the last year. The new figure from Ofgem, based on data from household meters, found that 88% of energy customers have not switched in the last year despite widespread advice that doing so can save hundreds of pounds. A separate poll for Big Energy Saving Week, a joint campaign with Energy Saving Trust, Department of Energy and Climate Change and Citizens Advice, found 45% of people did not believe they could save money by switching and 75% of people who did thought it would be £100 or less.
Energy customers face spectre of price rises for Halloween
Energy customers are facing a potential “Halloween horror” from rocketing bills - as 12 fixed dual fuel deals are due to expire at the end of October. Comparison website GoCompare.com said that households on the deals which are set to end stand to see an average annual increase in their bills of £147.95 or 15.2% if they sit tight and allow themselves to be rolled onto their supplier’s standard variable tariff.
‘Green’ policies add £60 to energy bills, says think-tank
The Government’s “green” policies have added around £60 to the average consumer energy bill in the last five years, a report has suggested. Energy company profits have added £70 to rising bills, and accounted for around £77 of average household dual fuel costs in 2014, while energy and climate policy costs accounted for £89, the study from think-tank Policy Exchange said. The report called on ministers to maximise efforts to improve household energy efficiency and to focus carbon-cutting efforts on mature technologies such as onshore wind to tackle climate change at least cost to the consumer.
Energy costs: British Gas to lower household supplies price by 5%
Average annual bills for British Gas customers are set to fall by £35 after the company announced a 5% cut for prices for household gas. The move, which is expected to be followed by the other “Big Six” major energy firms, will come in ahead of the winter and reflects lower costs, according to British Gas managing director Mark Hodges. It comes as National Grid warned it would have to spend more money on putting measures in place to keep the lights on this winter - adding an average extra 50p onto consumer bills - in the face of a worsening energy crunch. The closure of some power stations would have left a spare capacity of just 1.2%, and the company is paying mothballed plants to be on standby and some industries to be ready to power down if needed at times of peak demand.