It follows Eon’s 5.1 per cent cut and a 5.3 percent cut by SSE, and is in response to calls from the energy secretary Amber Rudd, Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan and consumer bodies to cut prices in response to falling wholesale costs.
Scottish Power chief executive of retail and generation Neil Clitheroe said: “This latest price reduction means the average annual gas bill on standard tariff will reduce by £32 as of 15 March with over 1 million customers benefiting from reduced prices.
“Over the past year, we have tried to always offer our customers competitively priced dual fuel tariffs. This has encouraged more of our customers to switch between tariffs with now close to one in two on fixed price products. This is one of the highest proportions of fixed price customers of the major suppliers.”
Uswitch.com director of consumer policy Ann Robinson said: “Scottish Power is doing the right thing by following British Gas, Eon and SSE with a price cut but – yet again – it falls well short of what customers have a right to expect.
“This is yet another demonstration that the energy market is broken. In a healthy, competitive market, drops in wholesale prices – which make up around half of bills – would be passed on. We should be seeing reductions of at least 10% on standard gas and electricity tariffs.”
Last year, British Gas announced a 5 per cent cut to household gas prices, effective from 27 August 2015.