First Utility has become the latest challenger brand to raise its standard variable tariff (SVT) to the revised price cap level.
The supplier cited the rising cost of energy for the £117 increase, matching industry regulator Ofgem’s revised cap which comes into effect on 1 April.
This means First Utility’s SVT customers will pay on average £1,254 a year for their energy. The amount a customer is charged will depend on their energy usage.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Ofgem recently announced that it would be increasing its price cap by an average of £117 a year to accurately reflect the rising costs of energy including wholesale and policy costs.
“These costs are felt by all suppliers and, as a result, First Utility will be increasing the price of its variable tariff in line with Ofgem’s assessment.
“The majority of our customers will not be affected by this price adjustment because they are on fixed-price contracts, a result of our ongoing engagement with customers to ensure they are on the best deal for them.
“We encourage all our variable tariff customers to consider our fixed-price tariffs which provide long term price certainty.”
First Utility follows Co-op Energy and Ebico who announced increases towards the end of last month.
All six of the large suppliers announced they would raise their prices in line with the cap, with many also citing wholesale costs.
The cap is revised every six months and industry experts are expecting the next cap to be lower than the April level due to wholesale costs decreasing over the last few months.
Some challenger suppliers such as Bulb and Igloo Energy have bucked the trend and announced they are dropping their prices.
First Utility was acquired by Shell in February last year. The oil and gas giant recently announced it plans to become the “world’s largest power company” by the early 2030s, according to the director of its New Energies division.
Last month Shell agreed to buy smart energy firm Limejump for an undisclosed sum.