Utility Bills Article

Table of Gas prices (most expensive first) based on a medium usage customer (20,500 kWhs of gas) paying quarterly by cash or cheque on receipt of bill, on standard plans

Data supplied by uSwitch.com and correct as of 28th February 2006

*London Energy and SWEB Energy prices are used for EDF Energy Gas prices

Table of Electricity prices (most expensive first) based on a medium usage customer (3,300 kWhs of electricity) paying quarterly by cash or cheque on receipt of bill, on standard plans

Data supplied by uSwitch.com and correct as of 28th February 2006

Ranking (previous position in brackets)	Provider	Pre price rise annual bill size	Post price rise annual bill size	Increase (£)	Increase (%)
1 (-)	British Gas	£320.83	£391.41	£70.58	22%
2 (4)	Powergen	£302.19	£357.79	£55.60	18%
3 (-)	ScottishPower	£309.72	£337.23	£27.51	9%
4 (2)	EDF Energy	£315.99	£330.68	£14.69	5%
5 (6)	npower	£279.26	£319.34	£40.08	14%
6 (5)	Scottish & Southern Energy	£279.58	£312.90	£33.32	12%
	Average	£301.26	£341.56	£40.30	13%

Alan Tattersall, Director of Home Services at uSwitch.com, comments:  “Powergen’s price rise is a huge blow to their 5.5 million customers, and in percentage terms is the largest we have seen for gas prices this year, although in real terms they are still some way behind British Gas.

“We have not seen any consistency from the major suppliers in the level of increases they have imposed on their customers, which should ring alarm bells for consumers, who have been given the same excuse for the price rises by all of the companies concerned.

“Now that we have seen all of the major energy suppliers increase their prices in 2006, there is no excuse for customers not to review their current deal and make sure that they are not paying over the odds for their gas and electricity. This is of particular importance for those people who were already struggling to pay their bills.” 

1. Powergen price rise announcement – 28^th February 2006
2. Each 1% rise in energy bills, which are made up of 60% gas bills and 40% electricity, puts a further 40,000 households into fuel poverty.
3. Using the market share of each supplier for the gas and electricity markets we have assumed that if a supplier with a market share of 25% increases their prices by 1% this would lead to an increase in fuel poverty of 25% of 40,000 (10,000). This methodology has been applied to each of the energy suppliers.
4. The ‘Big 6’ are British Gas, Powergen, npower, Scottish and Southern Energy, ScottishPower and EDF Energy.   Price rises come into effect on 1^st January 2006 (npower, Scottish and Southern Energy), 1^st March 2006 (British Gas, ScottishPower), 10^th March 2006 (Powergen), 13^th March (EDF Energy).
5. Powergen have 6 million customers - eon.com.  Over 10% of Powergen's customers are on capped or fixed products and are unaffected by this price rise.  We estimate, therefore, that 5.5 million Powergen customers are affected by this price rise.
6.  Based on a medium usage customer (20,500 kWhs of gas, 3,300 kWhs of electricity), paying quarterly on receipt of bill on standard tariffs.
7.  Daily Express – 28^th February 2006
8.  uSwitch calculates that 664,499 households will be forced into fuel poverty as a result of the price increases introduced by the Big 6 energy suppliers in 2006. This equates to one household every 48 seconds.
9.  DTI figures for the beginning of 2005 show 1.9 million households in fuel poverty. uSwitch.com research calculates that as of 1^st January 2006 this figure was 2.4 million.