SSE to reduce prices by 4.1%

Energy company SSE has said it is cutting its domestic gas prices by 4.1% from 30 April, a move which will save the average household £28 a year.

SSE is now the fifth of the “big six” energy firms to have reduced gas prices, following cuts from E.On, British Gas, Scottish Power and Npower.

EDF is the only one of the big six yet to announce price cuts.

The moves follow a fall in wholesale gas prices of about 20% since the end of November.

SSE also said it would extend its guarantee not to increase its gas and electricity prices until July 2016.

Steve Forbes, SSE’s director of GB Domestic, said: “We were the only supplier to freeze prices and we promised we would cut them if we could; now we’re delivering on that promise with an average £28 reduction in gas bills.”

SSE, which has 8.7 million electricity and gas customers, said that wholesale energy costs now make up “less than half of the typical household energy bill”.

“There are significant other costs within energy bills, including those relating to government-sponsored environmental and social policies and the roll-out of smart meters.”

The UK’s energy suppliers have been under intense pressure from politicians and consumer groups to respond more quickly to the recent large fall in oil prices and wholesale gas prices.

The industry is widely perceived as being quick to put prices up when costs rise, but very slow to reduce them when costs fall.

Source: BBC Business News