EDF customers fared the best in the latest round of astronomical energy price hikes, with the average dual fuel standard tariff increasing by “just” 20.2%, compared to an average of 23.8% among the other five main suppliers.
By contrast, British Gas customers were the worst hit, with bills increasing by a hefty 25.8%, or £273.
This is the second round of price hikes customers have faced this year, and when we aggregate the two increases EDF once again comes out on top, with bills rising 34% (£304) on average compared to 43% (£395) among the other five.
Once again, British Gas customers fared worst, with an average hike of 46%, or £416, this year.
Time to switch again
Of course this doesn’t mean that EDF will be the cheapest for everyone - suppliers all charge different rates in different areas - but it is still a good indicator of how suppliers are treating their customers.
When the first two suppliers announced their hikes a month ago, we stressed the importance of not switching immediately. Rather, we suggested waiting for the rest to follow suit so that you would have a clearer picture of which supplier was most likely to offer the best long-term value in your area.
Well, following ScottishPower’s hike on Monday (September 1st) that time has arrived, so visit a price comparison site to see find out if you could save.
As always, be sure to avoid all suppliers’ standard tariff like the plague, as this is always terrible value compared to the fixed or online deals available (read more about this here).
Table showing average annual household energy bill in 2008
| Supplier | 1st Jan 2008 | 1st July | 1st Septmber | Increase since 1st January 2008 |
| EDF Energy | £907 | £1,007 | £1,211 | £304 (34%) |
| Scottish & Southern Energy | £875 | £1,006 | £1,259 | £384 (44%) |
| npower | £908 | £1,056 | £1,278 | £370 (41%) |
| E.ON | £913 | £1,063 | £1,297 | £384 (42%) |
| British Gas | £912 | £1,055 | £1,328 | £416 (46%) |
| ScottishPower | £959 | £1,100 | £1,375 | £416 (43%) |
| Average | £912 | £1,048 | £1,307 | £395 (43%) |
Source: uSwitch. Bill sizes based on a medium user profile (20,500kWh of gas 3,300kWh of electricity per annum). Bill sizes averaged across all regions.
