Households are facing an energy bill increase of up to £362 (41 per cent) as 61 fixed deals across 13 suppliers come to an end this month, data from Uswitch suggests.
These expiring deals will add £42 million to the bills of approximately 193,000 households and customers on these tariffs will automatically be rolled onto their suppliers’ default tariffs.
Customers facing the biggest increases include those with Npower, with two expiring plans increasing by £362 and £343 respectively.
Co-operative Energy and Scottish Power customers will also see increases, of £343 and £326 respectively.
Responding to the data, an Npower spokesperson said: “The purpose of fixed term tariffs is to let customers take advantage of the prices available at any one point in time.
“Therefore when these fixed tariffs come to an end, the ones that follow them might either go up or down.
“As some of our current fixed tariffs come to an end this May we have been be writing to all customers who are coming off these tariffs to let them know what the cheapest new tariff for them would be.
“Our current cheapest tariff for average users is Price Fix June 2020 tariff at average £1,134 pa.”
Following the default price cap increase of £117 to £1,254 which came into effect on 1 April a number of suppliers, including each of the big six, raised their tariffs.
Uswitch says that at £1,254 per year for the average user, plans priced at the cap level cost £381 more than the cheapest deal on offer today.
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch, said: “The huge growth in switching means more and more consumers are taking the power into their own hands and saving hundreds of pounds a year on their energy bills.
“But with standard tariffs having skyrocketed after the price cap was increased by a monstrous 10 per cent in April, households whose fixed deals are ending could see their bills increase by as much as £360 a year if they roll onto their supplier’s standard plan.
“The good news is that many energy plans on the market were not affected by the price cap, and are currently much cheaper.
“With 30 deals priced below £1,000 a year, not to mention plenty of tariffs from challenger brands offering strong customer service, renewable energy, and online account management, now is the time to lock in a cheap fixed deal before wholesale costs start to increase and push prices back up again.”
Responding to the increases, Sally Jaques, head of energy at switching service Weflip, said: “Sadly, despite the energy price cap being introduced in January, larger suppliers are continuing to raise prices in line with this government cap.
“Standard variable tariffs (SVTs) are among the very worst energy deals on the market, and what’s more, where now seeing a difference of £381 between the cheapest deal on the market and the average SVT.
“The only good news in all of this for everyone stuck on the price-cap-tracking SVTs, is that they are free to leave at any time. There are no exit penalties for SVT customers, just a big saving when they switch.”
Weflip also conducted its own research into current tariffs. It suggests customers could be hit with average annual energy bill rises of £209.88, or 20 per cent.
The company based its calculations on dual fuel tariffs, payed by monthly direct debit, and average across all UK regions with annual energy usage of 12,500kWh of gas and 3,100kWh of electricity.
According to Weflip’s calculations, as of 29 May, the two cheapest tariffs available were both offered by Outfox the Market. Toto Energy was the next cheapest.
The ten most expensive price increases for energy deals ending on 31 May 2019 according to Uswitch data
| Supplier | Plan | End date | Average price (£) | Rollover plan name | Rollover price increase (£) |
| Npower | Online Energy Fix May 2019 | 31/05/2019 | £891.90 | Standard SC | £362.24 |
| Npower | Online Broker Fix May 2019 | 31/05/2019 | £910.71 | Standard SC | £343.43 |
| Co-operative Energy | My Co-op Lite Online May 19 | 31/05/2019 | £909.70 | Co-op Safe and Secure – DD | £342.85 |
| Scottish Power | Exclusive Fix May 2019 | 31/05/2019 | £928 | Standard | £326.09 |
| Npower | Feel Good Fix May 2019 | 31/05/2019 | £938.39 | Standard SC | £315.75 |
| Co-operative Energy | My Co-op Lite Online May 19 v2 | 31/05/2019 | £982.90 | Co-op Safe and Secure – DD | £269.65 |
| First Utility | First Fixed May 2019 v2 Online | 31/05/2019 | £988.85 | Flexible | £265.25 |
| EDF Energy | Simply Fixed Renewal May19 | 31/05/2019 | £990.92 | Standard (Variable) | £263.02 |
| Scottish Power | Super Saver May 2019 | 31/05/2019 | £996.23 | Standard | £257.87 |
| EDF Energy | Easy Online May19 | 31/05/2019 | £1,000.41 | Standard (Variable) | £253.54 |