Scottish Power becomes fifth supplier to hike prices

Scottish Power has become the fifth big six supplier to announce it is raising its standard variable tariff (SVT) in line with the revised Ofgem price cap.

The announcement made just hours after British Gas said it was raising prices, leaves just SSE as the only large supplier yet to reveal if it plans to increase its prices.

Utility Week contacted Scottish Power for comment but received no response at the time of publication.

According to auto-switching service Weflip, 900,000 customers on SVTs with the supplier will see their bills rise by an average of 10 per cent from 1 April.

Scottish Power joins Eon, EDF, Npower and British Gas – suppliers which have already raised their SVTs to the £1,254 cap.

Sally Jaques, Weflip’s head of energy, said: “Scottish Power has become the latest energy firm to knock customers with a price rise, announcing a 10 per cent hike just hours after British Gas, hitting stretched households hard in the pocket.

“From April, energy bills for 900,000 Scottish Power customers on SVTs will rise by an average of £117, a collective amount of £105 million.”

Meanwhile Richard Neudegg, head of regulation at Uswitch, said: “Standard tariffs are not value for money, with or without a cap, and Scottish Power customers have been given a harsh reminder of this today.”

On 7 February Ofgem announced the default price cap on standard variable tariffs (SVTs) is to rise by £117 to £1,254 a year.

The price cap for pre-payment meter customers will increase by £106 to £1,242 a year for the same period of a six-month “summer” price cap.

The new level will come into effect on 1 April and will be reviewed again later in the year.