A fresh round of switching suppliers is expected after the recent announcement by the energy giant to hike its prices by almost 15%.

ScottishPower last week became the fourth of Britain's six biggest energy suppliers to announce price rises for the majority of its 5.5 million customer accounts. Standard gas tariffs are now 15 per cent higher and standard electricity tariffs up 14 per cent.

ScottishPower's dual fuel customers, those who get both types of energy from the company, will see their bills grow by an average of 14.8 percent, the company said.

ScottishPower is the fourth company to raise its energy prices to the British market this year, with all suppliers blaming rising wholesale energy costs.

Many customers are now expected to turn to domestic energy comparison websites and switching services in order to get a better deal, although some will be stuck with price increases regardless of which supplier they choose.

It is a situation which some claim demonstrates the lack of competition in the market, despite the claims by regulators that enough consumers are taking advantage of the ability to chop and change between companies.

"We have worked hard to protect our customers from these increases for as long as possible and offer consistently competitive energy prices," Willie MacDiarmid, director of energy retail at the UK arm of Spain's Iberdrola, said.

"Our input costs are now at record levels, having increased by up to 97 percent since February 2007. Like other energy providers, we are now forced to pass on some of these higher costs."

First to put up its prices this year was npower, the fourth-largest supplier in the UK.  It announced increases averaging 19 per cent – £99 a year – for gas and 13 per cent, or £48 a year, for electricity. Some customers suffered rises of up to 27 per cent. The average annual dual fuel bill rises £147 to £1,014.

Next was French-owned EDF, the fifth-biggest supplier, which said that it is raising gas prices by 12.9 per cent and electricity prices by 7.9 per cent.  Centrica, owners of British Gas then lifted gas and electricity prices by 15 per cent.

Other energy companies are set to follow suit as wholesale gas and electricity prices continue the rise that began last summer. Since the start of this year, gas prices have spiked 15 per cent and electricity 10 per cent. Forecasters expect gas bills to rise by 15 per cent to 17 per cent over the next 12 months, while electricity charges are expected to climb 10 per cent.

Eon, incorporating Powergen, the country's third-largest supplier, is understood to be planning a double-digit increase soon.

Scottish and Southern Energy said in mid-January it would not raise prices until at least March 30.

BACK TO UTILITIES NEWS

Sources: http://uk.reuters.com/ | http://business.scotsman.com/

Paying more than you need to for your home's gas and electricity? The free and impartial comparison service, offered by uSwitch, and accredited by the energywatch Code of Confidence, can help you find an alternative supplier in your area and save you money. Find out how much you can save on your gas and electricity bills today!

For savings on your Business Energy see our Business Electricity and Business Gas pages.