There is a rumour going around that gas & electricity price hikes of are predicted for the summer or autumn.
Frankly, that's not great news especially as it wasn't very long ago that energy prices were hiked up!
Certain analysts have been predicting that domestic energy bills are set to rise between 10%, and a more likely, 25% over the next 12 months. Some even suggest the rises might be as high as 35% (but we really hope not!)
Such a move would add another £180-190 to your standard average household bill, pushing it towards the £1,200 a year mark for the first time.
Now, the gas and electricity supplier npower (remember their New Year price hike?) has just withdrawn its cheapest online dual fuel tariff. Analysts say that is further evidence that all of us across the UK can start planning for yet another round of energy price increases.
Npower's Sign Online 10 tariff had been the cheapest joint gas and electricity deal in the market, and was aimed at customers switching supplier. Npower's new version of the same online tariff is around £83 a year more expensive than the one it replaced!
And with crude oil prices hovering around $120 a barrel (which is almost double the price of a year ago) wholesale gas and electricity prices have also been pushed upwards.
An npower spokesman commented on their move: "We don't really talk about the online tariffs which can be withdrawn at any time. There are no plans to increase the price for any of our other tariffs at the moment."
If the energy prices do rise as much as rumours suggest, grab a price capped tariff now, as it should save you some money; though the cheapest capped tariffs cost 10% more than the current cheapest uncapped tariffs.
For those of you with finances on the edge you should think about capping your energy prices as it provides surety. Yes you could wait, but when price rises start, caps disappear quickly; so it's a balance.
To find the cheapest, select the capped options on comparison sites.
Our top pick for an energy comparison service is Energyhelpline.
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