Scottish Power hikes gas and electricity bills for second time this year

The increase will affect one third of homes supplied by the company

Scottish Power said rising wholesale costs were to blame for the hike (Reuters)

Scottish Power has announced its second bill increase in 2018, and said its standard variable domestic gas and electricity prices will go up from 8 October.

Prices will go up by an average of 3.7 per cent, or £46, on an annual basis.

The increase will affect one third of homes supplied by the company, about 900,000 households. The other homes supplied by Scottish Power will not be affected, the firm said.

In June, a price change announced earlier in the year took effect, with Scottish Power customers on the standard tariff seeing bills rise by £63 to £1,211 for the year.

The group has blamed rising wholesale costs for both hikes.

Neil Clitheroe, chief executive of retail said: “We have seen significant increases in wholesale energy costs since April, and like others in the industry, this means that we need to increase our prices.

“More than two-thirds of our customers are on fixed-price products or other tariffs not impacted by this price change. Those customers affected by the price change will be contacted and offered the opportunity to move to a fixed-price tariff alternative and avoid this increase.”

Scottish Power joins British Gas and EDF in issuing a second bill increase this year.

Stephen Murray, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “This is the sixth month in a row when a Big Six supplier has announced a price rise, so we shouldn’t be surprised by today’s announcement.

“Traditionally these rises were always bunched together at the beginning or end of the year, but the changing nature of the wholesale market means the price of energy is going up all the time and suppliers now feel the need to reflect this in their bills.”

Mr Murray added: “With the energy price cap just around the corner, it could well get worse before it gets better for consumers. Ofgem recently gave a clear indication of increasing costs when it lifted the safeguard tariff by £47, so it’s inevitable that even after the price cap is introduced standard tariffs will still be amongst the most expensive and definitely higher than when the cap was first proposed by the government in May last year.”

He advised customers who feel their bills are being unfairly increased to look at switching suppliers.