Nearly 2.5 million British households have seen their bills rise by an average of £116 despite the government freeze in prices until April.

According to a report released today by energy data specialists, customers on Economy 7 electricity tariffs saw a 7.5% hike in their bills.

Rates for some tariffs are not capped by the government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) – this has caused the average Economy 7 tariff to be more expensive than the other tariff rates, the authors of the report said.

The analysis by the consultancy Future Energy Associates found that Economy 7 users are among the worst hit by the energy crisis as these customers now pay 46% more than they would if they were on other electricity tariffs.

Tessa Khan, Director of Uplift, said: “The government needs to urgently get on with reforming energy pricing, as well as ramping up the development of homegrown renewable energy, so that consumers can benefit from cheaper, clean energy now and in winters to come.”

An Ofgem spokesperson told ELN: “Our priority is to keep costs down for all customers. Economy 7 users pay lower average unit rates than single rate customers and are protected by the government’s EPG – saving the equivalent of £655 a year on average than if the full cost of electricity was passed on.

“Electricity use is higher in winter for people with electric heating systems designed to use peak and off-peak meters.

“This will balance out across the rest of 2023 so average bills are less than people on other meters. The bottom line is if Economy 7 customers use cheaper off-peak electricity for night-storage heaters, they can make substantial savings. They will pay more if they use more peak-time electricity.

“Customers have the power to switch to a new deal if it will cut their costs. We would urge them to speak to their supplier about alternative options available to them. Our licence requires suppliers to give customers information about the cheapest Economy 7 tariff or cheapest tariff on other meters.”

Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/01/20/millions-of-customers-saw-their-bills-shoot-up-on-1st-january/