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SSE to cut bills by 3.5% from March

Tahmina Mannan
Written By:
Tahmina Mannan
Posted:
Updated:
07/01/2014

Energy giant SSE is to cut its prices by 3.5% from 24 March, following changes to the Government’s green levies on bills.

The firm, one of the UK’s ‘Big 6’ energy suppliers, said it would reduce prices by an average of 3.5% for customers on dual fuel tariffs.

Earlier this week Scottish Power announced it will be cutting prices by 3.3% from 31 January for those on its standard dual fuel tariff.

E.ON and EDF have also said their price reductions will only apply to customers on standard rates.

SSE’s announcement comes five weeks after the Government announced it will reduce the green levy commitments of the UK’s energy companies in a bid to lower fuel bills for households.

The reduction will only partly offset the company’s 8.2% price rise, which came into effect in November last year.

SSE has been criticised for not implementing the price reduction sooner.

“This is a welcome announcement. However, expecting customers to hang on until 24th March for this reduction misses the point which surely must be to help consumers now, in the winter, when they need it most,” said Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com.

“While SSE has done the right thing by ensuring that all its customers will benefit, it loses the moral high ground by making them wait up to three months longer than those with other suppliers.

“However, it is good that SSE has made a firm commitment not to increase prices again before Spring 2015, as long as there isn’t a substantial and sustained increase in wholesale energy costs, network costs or new policy-related costs. This will give consumers some valuable breathing space, which they should use to bring their own bills down.”