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Npower to raise energy prices by 10.4%

Your Money
Written By:
Your Money
Posted:
Updated:
21/10/2013

Npower has become the third major energy supplier to announce price rises, with a dual-fuel bill set to go up 10.4%.

The increase includes an electricity price rise of 9.3% and a gas price rise of 11.1%, and will come into force from 1 December 2013. The change will add an extra £137 to an annual average dual-fuel bill, taking it to £1,459.

The price hike is expected to affect 3.1 million customers.

According to MoneySupermarket.com, Npower has increased prices by £247 since November 2012.

Npower is the third ‘Big 6′ provider to hike price in recent days. SSE dealt consumers the first blow by announcing an 8.2% energy price rise on 10 October, followed one week later by the UK’s biggest energy company, British Gas, who went one better, doling out a 9.2% increase to its hard-pressed customers.

Ann Robinson from comparison site uSwitch.com said: “With three of the big six energy suppliers hiking their prices, consumers will be going into winter with heavy hearts and lighter wallets. The fear is that even more will feel forced to turn down and switch off in an attempt to keep their energy bills under control. This type of sacrifice is unpalatable at the best of times, but intolerable if we experience a real winter freeze.

“As energy becomes less and less affordable, the more we will see people rationing and going cold. The knock-on cost in misery and the potential impact on health and well-being could be immense. Consumers are paying a steep price for the fact that successive governments have failed to put affordability at the heart of energy policy.

“It’s not worth waiting for the politicians – rhetoric and hot air won’t keep you warm this winter. If you want to protect yourself then the time for action is now. There are some great fixed price deals on the market which can protect you from price hikes for anything up to four winters. Now is also the time to reduce the amount of energy you use – not by going cold, but by making your home as energy efficient as possible. These two steps could be enough to keep your bills affordable and your home still warm.”

Co-op Energy also announced that it will be increasing its gas and electricity prices by 4.5% for new customers from today and existing customers from 8 January 2014.


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