As if fuel prices haven't been going up enough in the last couple of years, now with the arrival of 2008, those folk over at npower have decided to turn the heat up on their energy customers by raising their prices.
So what have npower done?
- They have their prices up by an average of 17.2% (£92) for gas and 12.7% (£48) for electricity.
- Increases on standard tariffs will affect over 65% of their customers; about 4.9 million of us.
- The average household bill for a "dual fuel" npower customer will grow from £908 to £1,047; a rise of £139, which is £18 more expensive than when prices were at a peak last year!
Thanks to their latest increases, npower is now the most expensive supplier in the market; on average it is
15% more expensive than its competitors. The price hike wipes out the 12% price cut that npower made last year.
It means that if you are a customer with them, you only enjoyed lower prices for a grand total of 8 months (mainly during the summer period when your energy usage is lower)
This latest blow comes only a month after npower put up prices on their wholesale tracker plan by 17% for gas and 13% for electricity and by 17% on their new online energy plan.
npower customers will also be slightly peeved by the fact that last year, RWE npower reported bumper profits of £495 million! Oh and they spent just over £12 million on advertising last year; only British Gas and E.ON spent more.
Suppliers will find it increasingly more difficult to justify their sweeping price rises to customers whose perception is that energy companies are slow to pass on price cuts, but quick to put prices up.
Energy prices soared across the board by £277 (38%) on average between 1st January 2006 and 1st January 2007, but prices were only cut by £101 during 2007; this despite a 56% decrease in wholesale energy prices.
Adding further ammunition to our growing discontent with our energy suppliers, while 15 price rises in 2006 added £4.8 billion to our energy bills, price cuts in 2007 only shaved off £1.7 billion.
Is it any wonder we are left feeling cold towards the energy companies?
Npower's move gives other providers the green light to put prices up too and household energy bills are now expected to top £1,000 again in 2008. Ouch!
Tim Wolfenden, Head of Home Services at uSwitch.com, commented on npower's move:
"Customers have to switch now to reduce the impact of higher energy bills on their household. By not switching, consumers could waste over £2.3 billion in total or £334 each. Those who have never switched before and are sitting on an uncompetitive standard plan have the most to gain and should switch straight away. The only consumers who can afford to sit back and wait to see how this round of price increases plays out are those who are already on a competitive online deal."
So, if you are an npower customer, their latest price rise may be too much for you. If so, why not compare other energy suppliers and see how much you could save?
The energy companies that are keeping our cash
Power firms overcharging on meters