Scottish and Southern Energy has announced a 9.4% increase in household gas prices.

The second largest supplier in the UK, SSE has cited a 25% increase in wholesale gas prices as the reason for the increase.

SSE’s announcement comes just a month before the increase in VAT to 20%, with its new higher prices to come in to effect on 1 December.

It is expected that Scottish and Southern’s 3.6 million domestic customers won’t be the only ones suffering from price rises this winter.

Presumably SSE has set the tone for the rest of the ‘big six’ suppliers to follow suit as the cold months start to kick in.

The average household bill is expected to rise to over £1,200 this winter, in a time where household incomes are dropping.

It has long been expected that bills are to steadily rise over the next decade, as more and more government money is spent on energy efficient initiatives such as wind and wave power, and nuclear power schemes to hit carbon reduction targets.

When the big six are announcing massive profits such as Centrica’s 98% in July, the debate over whether energy suppliers are delivering their customers a fair deal is ongoing.

Unfortunately energy price hikes seem to be becoming a seasonal tradition that is unwelcome to most.

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