Almost 1 million Scottish Power customers will be seeing their gas and electricity bills increase from October 8th.
Prices are set to go up by an average of 3.7%, adding £46 a year to customers’ energy bills.
Scottish Power have said that the increase comes as a result of wholesale energy costs rising by over 20% since April.
This is the second time that Scottish Power have increased their prices this year after their gas and electricity prices went up by 5.5% for a third of customers in June.
Combine the two increases they’ve made this year and Scottish Power have become the most expensive of the big six energy suppliers.
Which Customers Will be Affected?
The change will affect roughly 900,000 customers that are on Scottish Power’s standard tariff. Customers on fixed or prepay tariffs will avoid the rise.
What did Scottish Power Say?
Neil Clitheroe, Scottish Power chief executive said: “We have seen significant increases in wholesale energy costs since April, and like others in the industry, this means that we need to increase our prices.
“More than two-thirds of our customers are on fixed price products or other tariffs not impacted by this price change. Those customers affected by the price change will be contacted and offered the opportunity to move to a fixed price tariff alternative and avoid this increase.”
How did the Government Respond?
In response to the news, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “This is why the government is introducing a new price cap by this winter to guarantee that consumers are protected from poor value tariffs and further bring down the £1.4bn a year that customers have been overpaying.”
