Energy price cuts forecast

Saturday, 05 January 2008 02:00

Consumers can expect price cuts from power companies by spring as the cost of wholesale gas falls, a comparison website claims.

An announcement from ScottishPower that it is cutting the cost of gas on its PriceSure fixed-price energy plans by ten per cent indicates the level of price cuts consumers can expect over the next three months, uSwitch.com said.

However, any cuts will not be in time to help householders struggling with the cost of heating this winter, uSwitch warned.

Will Marples, energy expert at uSwitch.com, said: "We expect suppliers to take a cautious approach to bringing household energy prices down. They will be concerned that wholesale prices could move upwards again, eating into margins and leaving them exposed.

"To mitigate this risk, they are likely to opt to introduce cuts in two stages, making an initial reduction of 10 - 15 per cent in the run up to Spring 2009, followed by a second cut of a similar or smaller level later on in the year if wholesale prices remain low."

A ten per cent cut in the price of gas and electricity would shave £129 off the current average bill of £1,293, taking it down to £1,164.

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