SSE to raise standard electricity prices by 15% from 28 April

‘Big six’ energy firm SSE has followed the majority of its rivals in announcing inflation-busting hikes to its standard tariffs.

The company said it was raising its standard electricity tariff by 14.9% from 28 April but would not hike gas prices.

It equated, SSE said, to a 6.9% – or £73 – annual increase for a typical dual fuel customer.

The move will affect 2.8 million households in the UK unless they switch to a different tariff or provider.

"The price change reflects the increasing cost of supplying electricity, and specifically higher costs associated with delivering vital government programmes designed to upgrade Britain’s ageing energy infrastructure and help the country move towards a low carbon future," it said.

"These costs are levied predominantly against electricity customers.

"SSE has sought to protect customers as much as possible and was the first major supplier to commit to holding prices until at least April 2017; it has resisted pressure on gas prices, and continues to bear down on its own controllable costs in order to minimise the impact of increasing costs on customers."

SSE was the last of the major firms to declare its hand – with only British Gas saying it would not raise standard charges, until at least August in its case, as it seeks to become more competitive.

Npower, ScottishPower, EDF and E.On all blamed similar factors for imposing higher charges.

However, the energy regulator Ofgem has questioned the merits of the case for such tariff increases while a growing number of MPs have lined up to call on the Government to impose price caps on suppliers to protect households.

Price increases have been announced across the industry at a time customers could well do without them.

Rising inflation, largely a consequence of higher import costs because of the weakness of the pound since the EU referendum, is tipped to hit consumer spending which has driven the UK’s economic recovery since the financial crisis.

While making its announcement, SSE said it was launching a £5m fund to provide "additional financial support for those who need it most."

The managing director of its retail division, Will Morris, said: "We deeply regret having to raise electricity prices.

"This is the first increase since 2013 and we’ve worked hard to keep them down for as long as possible by cutting our own costs, putting in place a winter price freeze and holding gas prices, but we have seen significant increases in electricity costs which are outside our control.

"Without an increase we would have been supplying electricity to domestic customers at a loss."

(c) Sky News 2017: SSE to raise standard electricity prices by 15% from 28 April