It’s been a while coming, but EDF Energy is finally following in the footsteps of its competitors by breaking the news that it is to increase its gas and electricity prices.
Since Scottish Power became the first of the “Big Six” energy companies to announce prices rises back in June, one-by-one we’ve seen the likes of British Gas and npower raising their tariffs, just in time for the onset of winter.
Although EDF says it is ‘reluctantly’ putting up its energy prices, the announcement will just add more fuel to the fire for customers already struggling to meet the demands of rising gas and electricity bills, by 15.4% and 4.5% respectively for average gas and electricity tariffs.
Changes will come into effect from 10 November, to reflect the rise in wholesale energy costs, says the supplier.
EDF chief executive, Vincent de Rivaz, said they were able to delay rising their prices for longer compared to their rivals due to its sourcing of nuclear energy, but the time had unfortunately come where they needed to pass some of these higher costs on to customers.
“Unlike some other suppliers we have been able to give protection to our customers, particularly for their electricity consumption, because of our choice to invest in low carbon nuclear generation, which enjoys stable costs compared to gas and coal and has had a strong performance this year,” he said.
According to the energy provider, despite higher charges it would still be the cheapest major supplier for dual fuel. With dual-fuel bills facing an increase of around 33p a day, it will mean the annual cost of their standard dual-fuel bill would rise from £1,051 to £1,165, if paid by direct debit.
The news comes after the Government fired a warning to energy firms, claiming they aren’t doing enough to improve energy efficiency in consumers’ homes. Figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has revealed that two-fifths of UK homes still have inadequate loft insulation, with around the same number of homes having inadequate cavity wall insulation.
