British Gas Cuts Prices

British Gas is cutting its prices by 5% or £26 for electricity with immediate effect. Which will benefit 5.3 million customers.

The average household bill for a dual fuel British Gas customer will now drop from £1,286 to £1,260 - £230 or 22% higher than its average bill of £1,030 in October 2010.

British Gas increased prices by £160 or 15% in 2011.
 
Overall, suppliers put prices up last year by 21% or £224, adding £2.24 billion onto household energy bills.

The waiting game is over for consumers as Britain's biggest energy supplier, British Gas, has announced that it is cutting its prices. The reductions - 5% or £26 for electricity - come into effect recently. It means that the average British Gas dual fuel bill will drop from £1,286 to £1,260.

It is the second big six supplier to cut prices for customers following EDF Energy's move yesterday. Now that EDF Energy and British Gas have acted, the other big six suppliers will be under pressure to bring their prices down again too, although reductions look unlikely to wipe out the £224 or 21% increase seen by households in the last 18 months[3], especially as neither supplier has cut both their gas and electricity prices.

British Gas increased its prices by 15% or £160 last year. Its average household energy bill in October 2010 was £1,030. After today's cuts it will be £1,260 - £230 or 22% higher than just over a year ago.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: "Now that two of Britain's biggest energy suppliers have moved to cut their prices, the rest of the big six will be feeling the pressure to follow suit. Although British Gas customers will feel the benefit immediately, many will feel disappointed that they won't see their gas bills decrease - especially with temperatures expected to drop. We hope that this will be just the first cut, and that further reductions will follow.

"However, this cut will go nowhere near cancelling out the £224 or 21% hike in prices in the last 18 months. But households can help to mitigate the impact of higher bills by shopping around for a cheaper deal and cutting back on the amount of energy they use by being more energy efficient. Moving to dual fuel, paying by direct debit and signing up to a competitively priced deal will save you up to £420, far more than price cuts will give you based on today's evidence."

Worth looking at switching provider? To find out, visit www.uSwitch.com or call 0800 093 06 07

npower launches insulation scheme to get homes warm this winter

npower has launched a scheme to help homeowners warm up their home and reduce energy wastage. Savvy DIY experts can now buy loft insulation for £1 a roll from npower's partner Build Center, meaning the average three bedroom semi-detached home can be insulated for less than £20.  £19, to be exact.

The scheme, open to everyone regardless of whether they are an npower energy customer or not, also offers free delivery to help ease the process. Furthermore, npower has also developed a video to help novices complete the DIY loft insulation job step by step.

The scheme forms part of npower's Government obligations to help homeowners cut the amount of energy that's wasted in the UK each year. The Energy Saving Trust anticipates that homes could save as much as £175 a year on their heating bills and around 720 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year, just by installing the recommended 270mm depth of loft insulation.  (EDITOR: And all for an outlay of under 20 quid!)

Bob Jackson, energy efficiency and policy manager for the energy supplier, commented on the scheme: "As an energy company, npower takes its commitment to the environment and to consumers extremely seriously. Rising wholesale fuel costs mean that many people find themselves struggling to pay their utility bills. The £1 a roll offer will help more people to make massive reductions, and savings in their bills and benefits from a warmer home during the long, cold winter months.

"We also know that not everyone is able to install their own loft insulation. That's why we also offer professional loft insulation meaning teveryone can benefit from the heat savings."

For more information and to buy insulation at £1 a roll while stocks last, householders can visit www.npower.com/diyinsulation call 0845 270 8250 or pop in to their local Build Centre.

www.npower.com

New study reveals confusing energy landscape for consumers

Energy providers are falling short of consumer expectations and keeping them in the dark over the benefits of smart meters.That's a new and worrying claim by a new report.

The UK’s energy providers are falling short in providing energy efficiency initiatives that meet consumer demands and failing to educate on the money-saving benefits of the smart meter rollout, according to a new study from Navetas Energy Management. The study also uncovered a confusing energy landscape for consumers, with the approaches to energy monitoring from energy providers varying widely, making it difficult for consumers to make informed choices when trying to reduce their energy consumption.

The report, ‘Time for smarter thinking’, available to download at www.navetas.com/corporate/pressreleases/energyaudit, follows research from Navetas that showed 96% of British adults are concerned about energy prices and 88% want to better understand how they are using energy and would value information at an appliance level.

Against this backdrop, and with the government’s rollout of 53m smart meters looming, the Navetas report studied ten UK energy providers, including the “Big Six”. Through email communication, telephone calls and website reviews, it looked at whether energy providers are meeting consumer demand for energy efficiency initiatives and doing enough to convince consumers of the benefits of the smart meter rollout.

Energy efficiency initiatives

Energy saving is a key message for energy providers, but the products and services offered varied widely. At the time of the study, British Gas and Southern Electric were promoting energy efficiency prominently, while EDF Energy, E.ON and Scottish Power focused on fixed pricing deals, and npower on services such as boiler care.

Smaller companies Good Energy and Ecotricity looked to appeal to customers by focusing on renewable energy, while new entrant Co-operative Energy highlighted pricing promotions – putting them in direct competition with the bigger players in the market.

With 88% of consumers saying they would value energy monitoring at an appliance level, the study also looked at the energy monitors on offer. Only 50% of energy providers assessed provide an energy monitoring device and these varied considerably, with some requiring plugs, some with in-home displays, others online displays, some monitoring at appliance level and others only providing top-line energy data.

Smart meters

Overall, energy providers are providing some information on the government’s smart meter rollout, but offering little evidence of tangible benefits that will help consumers. British Gas was the only energy provider to put a figure against the savings that smart meters could give consumers, of 10%.

Calls to customer service teams painted a particularly worrying picture, with many agents not knowing when the rollout of smart meters will start or whether consumers would be charged. Only agents from British Gas, E.ON and Scottish Power were clear that the consumer would not have to pay for their smart meter and few could cite the key benefits of smart meters outside of accurate billing and automatic meter readings. One customer service agent from a Big Six utility even stated: “it’s all a bit sketchy at the moment”.

Chris Saunders, CEO at Navetas Energy Management, comments: “The UK energy industry is entering a challenging phase, with strict carbon reduction targets, implementation of the smart grid and an £11.7bn smart meter rollout. But for the consumer, saving money is the key concern and energy providers have a lot to do to rebuild their trust following recent high price rises.

“The smart meter rollout is an initiative that will impact every household in the UK and it offers the opportunity for energy providers to deliver customers the services, cost savings and added value they want. .The smart meter rollout can be a win-win for both energy providers and energy users, but smart meters need to be smarter.

“Energy providers need to transform these devices from simple displays for consumers, to intelligent energy measurement and management systems in the home that will engage consumers and help them save energy. It’s time for energy providers to find new coherent and purpose-driven ways of motivating and engaging consumers in their bids to become energy efficient.”

Navetas has developed unique energy disaggregation technology that can accurately measure energy consumption at an appliance-level, from a single point in the home, without the need for additional sensors. The technology is currently being trialed with some of the UK’s leading energy providers.

The full Navetas report, ‘An audit of UK energy providers’, can be downloaded now at www.navetas.com/corporate/pressreleases/energyaudit.

Cheaper Power to the People? UK Consumers Fight back over Energy Price Rises

Hot on the heels of the news Ofgem, the energy watchdog, is to investigate the “Big Six” energy companies over possible “cartel behaviour” in their pricing strategies, and the uproar that followed the announcement British Gas is to increase prices even further, is news of a new web service empowering consumers to show they can fight back against the pricing strategies of the energy corporations.

Giantclient.co.uk is a new “Social Utility” using social networking to enable consumers to join together creating a “Giant Client” that will use their collective strength to drive down energy prices.

Said Mark Lawfull co founder of giantclient.co.uk “It's clear to us that energy consumers have been paying not only for the huge profits and dividends earned and paid by the energy corporations, but also for the spin off industries, the comparison and switching companies.”

He went on to say: “Energy provision is and should be a service provided to the public, not a private profit making industry. We aim to give the consumer a platform to negotiate energy prices on a level that will make these companies take notice of their voice.”

The Giant Client social utility aims to gain 10,000 members to “Grow the Giant” as they put it, and will then use their business contacts to negotiate “the best energy prices available in the uk”.

“10,000 is just the start, just the proving ground” says Mark. “There is no reason why every household in the UK can't become a Giant Client member and effectively renationalise the energy industry.

“Anyone unsure about the concept should take a look at the financial statements on the websites of any of these giant corporations, the money made out of energy is incredible, wholesale prices may have gone up, but you can see that British Gas increased their dividend payment by 12 % last year.”

Giant Client officially releases their new website (www.giantclient.co.uk) on Monday July 11th.