Hundreds of thousands of energy customers to get £183 bill rise on New Years Eve – here’s how to cut your costs
HUNDREDS of thousands of energy customers are set to face price hikes of £183 a year on average come New Years Eve.
According to new research by Energyhelpline.com, suppliers are set to introduce 40 energy price increases on December 31.
The comparison website found that Big Six firms, as well as small suppliers, are planning to raise their tariffs just before the new year.
It says prices will go up on average by 19 per cent, with the Bix Six increasing their tariffs by an even higher 27.5 per cent.
This has been put down to two reasons - the first being that suppliers are facing rising wholesale costs, which is what they pay to buy gas and electricity before selling it to you.
There's also set to be more demand as we edge further into winter over the upcoming months.
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Victoria Arrington from Energyhelpline.com suggests customers look into switching to make their energy costs more affordable.
She said: "You don’t have to wait for your tariff to end to start looking for as good deal. In most cases you will have 49 days before the tariff end date to switch to a new supplier, with no exit fees.
"This gives customers plenty of opportunity to take the few minutes required to switch online.
“With over 70 suppliers in the UK market, there are plenty of competitive deals out there.
"Customers can choose what is right for them, from 100 per cent renewable energy, to online only, and those with 24-hour customer support services."
MORE ON MONEY
An energy price cap is set to take force on January 1, which means nationally suppliers won't be able to charge average dual fuel customers more than £1,136 for their energy bills.
But households could be charged up to £62 more for their gas and electricity depending on where they live, once the price cap is introduced.
Meanwhile, OneSelect has become the seventh energy firm to go bust this year leaving 36,000 customers without a supplier.
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