Business energy supplier BES Utilities has announced it is cutting electricity bills for its customers due to a fall in wholesale costs.
BES, which has 40,000 customers and is based in Fleetwood, Lancashire says it is cutting the cost of electricity by an average of 10.28 per cent for customers signed up to its electricity market tracker tariff.
In some cases, the company adds, depending on the customer’s location and meter type, the reduction is by 11.91 per cent.
BES reviews costs for its customers on the electricity market tracker product twice a year meaning the price customers pay will either remain the same, rise or fall, depending on what is happening in the wider energy market.
Andy Pilley, BES Utilities chair, said: “We are delighted we are able to pass on a reduction to our customers at a time when energy prices across the industry are generally on the increase.
“The majority of our customers are on our market tracker product and so thousands of businesses across the UK will see real reductions in the price they pay for their electricity.
“The nature of our tracker product means businesses that have chosen this type of contract are always paying a price which reflects the costs we incur, so we are sure news of this price reduction will be welcomed by our valued customers.”
In the domestic market falling wholesale costs will lead to the decrease of Ofgem’s energy price cap when it is reviewed later in the year, some industry experts have predicted.
According to the ICIS Power Index (IPI) wholesale costs have seen a “substantial reduction”.
A mild winter decreased consumer demand for electricity and gas, ICIS saID. That, coupled with a healthy gas supply meant prices collapsed from the start of the winter.
Similarly experts from the consultancy firm Cornwall Insight predicted that with wholesale costs beginning to decrease, the price cap is likely to fall by around £50 in the next readjustment.
Furthermore suppliers such as Bulb, Igloo Energy and Octopus have all recently announced they will be cutting prices for their domestic customers due to a fall in wholesale costs.