The energy supplier’s price rise will affect 7 million domestic customers, and signals price rises for businesses too.

SSE have raised their prices again, will the other suppliers follow suit as we have seen in the past?

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.

The increase also means customers of the Ebico and M&S brands will also see their prices rise, as they are supplied by SSE under a different label.

SSE says the increase is out of its hands, as it is mainly passing on higher costs of transmission, wholesale costs and government levies and taxes.

The average SSE dual fuel bill will rise £106 to £1,380.

The Energy Minister Michael Fallon said that customers should “look again at their tariffs and see whether they can switch to a cheaper tariff”, but is there much point if the rest of the Big Six raise their prices in the coming weeks and months anyway?

Past stories about price rises: 2012 | 2011

Read the links above and you’ll see there is a pattern emerging in the UK energy market.

SSE said: “We’ve done as much as we could to keep prices down, but the reality is that buying wholesale energy in global markets, delivering it to customers’ homes, and Government-imposed levies collected through bills – endorsed by all the major parties – all cost more than they did last year.”

Sources: SSE to raise gas and electricity prices by 8.2% – BBC News | Energy Bills: SSE To Raise Tariffs By 8.2% – Sky News