npower’s 2.5% price cut finally arrives
Energy supplier npower’s price drop on the back of a cut in government levies is finally kicking in.
The price cut on Friday (28 February) will trim £33 a year off the average npower dual fuel energy bill.
This brings their average bill down from £1,332 to £1,299 a year on top of a further £12 rebate made to bills later this year, as other suppliers are doing.
Price comparison firms say the move still leaves npower customers paying £79 or 6.5% more for energy than in January 2013.
Now SSE remains the last supplier to pass on the levy cut to customers. SSE’s cut is planned for March at the end of its financial year.
Price comparison site uSwitch.com suggests the levy cut has left people cold.
In a poll by the firm, two thirds of consumers (66%) were disappointed by the level of reduction to their bill while just 6% felt the way reductions have been passed on is fair.
Over eight in ten (84%) say that suppliers have made the process too complicated[2]. Three quarters of consumers (75%) expect that energy prices will go up again this year[3].
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy uSwitch said: “The levy reductions are filtering through to household bills, but for many consumers it’s too little, too late.
“This hasn’t just taken the sheen off what should have been a good news story for consumers, but it has also meant many missing out on a potential lifeline when it comes to this winter’s heavy fuel bills.”
