Energy Bills from Big Six Have Almost Doubled in Six Years
Posted on: January 18th, 2012 by Justin Becks
Everyone knows that energy bills have been on the rise for sometime now. However, what a lot of people do not know, is just how much these bills have increased. Well, according to a new report from uSwitch.com, energy bills have increased by more than 90 percent in the past six years. This means, bills have jumped from £600 to an average of £1,259. It’s no wonder why so many families are struggling to make ends meet.
Well, according to energy experts, people need to be shopping around for the best energy deals. This is because a number of the Big Six energy providers are now dropping their prices. In fact, some new price cuts from energy suppliers should help reduce the average household energy bill by about 2.6 percent. This will still leave energy bills high, but seeing these bills drop instead of going up is a good sign.
Now, the hardest task that energy users have to face is what energy provider to use. Recently, Scottish Power just became the last of the Big Six providers to announce reductions in its tariffs. This means, that all the big suppliers have now dropped prices, and consumers need to find out which tariff fits their life style better.
Scottish Power said that around 1.4 million domestic gas consumers would receive lower gas bills next month. Prices are set to fall, on average, by 5 percent. This should help reduce most homes’ gas bills by at least £36 for both dual-fuel and gas-only monthly members.
However, as noted above, Scottish Power is not the only supplier droppings its prices. In fact, E.ON just recently announced a nice 6 percent drop in its electricity bills. This move is going to come into force on February 27. Thus, people who are using electricity more might find more savings with E.ON. On the other hand; gas users may find the discounts they need with Scottish Power.
Of course, not everyone is happy with these cuts. Sure, these price drops decrease bills a bit, but it is a far cry from the 21 percent bills have increased since the end of 2010. In just over a year’s time, bills have shot up around £224 on average. These are rates that many Brits are struggling to pay. In fact, some Brits have recently made it clear that they are worried about even being able to pay their next power bill.
