EDF and British Gas have both now joined the rest of the Big Six in reducing the price of gas on their standard tariffs.
British Gas announced their cut first – a drop in 5.1%, active from 16th of March this year. EDF soon followed suit, announcing a cut of 5% starting on the 24th March.
Starting with E.ON two weeks ago, each of the Big Six has now cut their gas prices by around 5%.
The cuts so far:
- E.ON: 5.1%
- SSE: 5.3%
- Scottish Power: 5.4%
- Npower: 5.2%
- British Gas: 5.1%
- EDF: 5%
According to British Gas, their latest reduction “will benefit about 6.8 million customers on current tariffs, who will see their average bill drop by £31.”
EDF’s cut will save just under one million of its customers the same amount each year.
This price cut from British Gas is the third since the start of last year, “bringing average bills down by almost £100” over that time. This makes them, “cheaper than 95% of the market, for a typical household on a standard variable dual-fuel tariff.”
EDF have, according to one of their directors, Beatrice Bigois, cut their prices twice now in a little more than a year and have described their cuts as “reflect[ing] falls in wholesale gas prices.”
For all of the providers, the cuts only apply to gas and only on their standard tariffs, which tend to be more expensive than other tariffs they each offer.
A senior partner at Ofgem said: “These price cuts are a movement in the right direction for loyal customers, but they are dwarfed by the savings available by switching from a standard tariff to a fixed deal.”
Some have criticised what they see as the small size of the cuts that have been made, in the face of larger wholesale price drops over the last year.
Following SSE’s cuts, Ofgem’s chief executive Dermot Nolan said: “if the market is as competitive as suppliers claim, we would expect to see further price cuts.”
He went on: “Ofgem referred the market to the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) because we feel competition is not bearing down fast or heard enough on consumer bills.”
While the cuts have been criticised as too small, there are real savings to be made by switching to fixed tariffs from each provider. By switching from the most expensive standard tariffs to the cheapest fixed rate deals, customers can save around £300 every year.
