Scottish Power and First Utility pull cheapest energy deals

Both First Utility and Scottish Power has announced that they are to pull their cheapest fixed price tariffs from the market.

If consumers want to fix a price for energy usage this winter without paying an exit fee in the future they need to do so immediately as Scottish Power’s best deal will be removed from the market later today.

The iSave Fixed v3 plan was the cheapest dual fuel tariff on the market at £1,040 per year and it offered a fixed price guarantee to customers until the end of 2013.

Meanwhile, Scottish Power’s Online Fixed Price Energy January 2014 deal charged an average dual fuel price of £1,052 a year and it came with no exit penalty.

This means that the best deal that will be available after today is npower’s Energy Online Oct 2013 deal which costs £1,064 a year, guarantees to be three per cent cheaper than its standard tariff until the end of October 2013 but charges a £30 exit penalty.

The cheapest fixed price tariff now is OVO Energy’s New Energy Fixed which has an average annual cost of £1,088.

The best deal available without an exit penalty will be the Co-op’s Pioneer Tariff which averages £1,144 a year and its charges are based on standard variable prices.

The decision by First Utility and Scottish Power follows EDF Energy’s decision to pull its best fixed price deal, the Energy Blue + Price Promise earlier this month. The EDF product was one of just two products that allowed customers to leave a contract early without an exit penalty, Scottish Power’s tariff being the other one.

The removal of these three top tariffs means that consumers have a reduced range of options for fixing prices for gas and electricity at a low price with no exit penalties.
It is expected that energy prices will continue to rise this winter and future fixed price deals will be charged at a higher rate.

Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch.com, warns: “Consumers who want to fix their energy prices cannot afford to hang around. The cost of fixed price plans is creeping upwards and exit penalties are creeping back in.”

Read more: A step-by-step guide on how to find the cheapest energy deals