Energy consultants and brokers are to be regulated with a new Code of Practice, enforced by the energy regulator later this year. As part of the ongoing Retail Market Review, Ofgem is placing a license obligation on suppliers to only deal with Third-party intermediaries (TPIs) that are accredited to an industry-governed code of practice. The regulator was granted new powers … Read More
British Gas defends large profit margins
Amid comments from the Energy Secretary Ed Davey, the energy giant owned by Centrica has hit back, claiming it “does more than any other organisation to secure gas and power for British consumers”. The company was responding to a letter written by Mr Davey to regulators yesterday, in which he suggested the possibility of British Gas being “broken up” due … Read More
E.ON to raise energy prices by 3.7%
German-owned energy giant is the last of the Big Six to raise prices this winter. The rise of 3.7% on electricity, and 4.6% on gas equates to around £48 on the average annual bill, and will take effect from January 18. The increase is less than expected, following a reduction on green and social levies by the government which equates … Read More
EDF announce smallest price rise of Big Six
The french-owned energy giant is only raising prices by an average of 3.9%, less than half that of other major suppliers. The increase will come into force from January 3, and looks like a serious attempt by the firm to actually compete with rivals. The move will affect 2.4 million households, but EDF has warned that green levies must be … Read More
Energy bosses questioned over profits
Representatives from the Big Six were recently called before a panel of MPs, being asked to justify their recent round of price rises. British Gas, Npower, Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern have already announced price rises this winter. On the 29th October, bosses from all of the largest energy suppliers were questioned on why they have raised their prices … Read More
ScottishPower becomes fourth to raise prices
The energy giant is the fourth of the ‘Big Six’ energy providers to announce a price rise this winter. It follows the announcements already made in recent weeks by by Scottish & Southern (SSE) and British Gas and Npower. ScottishPower is to raise its domestic energy prices on December 6, with an average increase of 8.6%.
British Gas and Npower announce price rises
Three of the Big Six have now announced winter price increases of between 8 and 11 per cent. Npower and British Gas have joined SSE and Co-op on the list of energy companies that have already announced price hikes this winter. Both suppliers blamed the hikes on higher prices on the global energy markets, higher costs of transmission, and increases … Read More
SSE announce winter price rise
The energy supplier’s price rise will affect 7 million domestic customers, and signals price rises for businesses too. The increase will be around 8.2%, and come into effect on November 15. In the South East, customers will see hikes as high as 9.7% while in the North and southern Scotland people will face a smaller 7% rise.
All of the Big Six end auto-rollover contracts
None of the six major energy suppliers will continue to roll business customers into new contracts without their explicit consent. The “Big Six” all promised to stop the tactic, although they are essentially only pre-empting new rules being put in place by Ofgem, the energy regulator, as part of their ongoing Retail Market Review. We recently reported that three of … Read More
SSE to stop auto-rollover contracts
Scottish & Southern Energy have become the third major energy supplier to announce an end to automatic contract rollovers for businesses. They join British Gas and E.ON Energy UK, with half of the Big Six now stating their commitment to not automatically locking customers in at the end of their fixed term if they don’t terminate their contract within a … Read More