E.ON hikes bills for 1m customers on coldest spring day on record

Around a million households face higher bills for gas and electricity after the big-six power firm E.ON quietly increased prices on the coldest spring day on record.

Comparison sites and consumer groups described the move, expected to be the first of a series of price increases from energy providers, as devastating news for hard-pressed households. The average annual increase will be £22, but one in four households on the firm’s standard variable tariff (SVT) will have to pay an extra £50 a year.

The timing of E.ON’s move, which the company said was designed to make their charges easier to understand, was branded a stealth hike for the way the changes have been introduced. They will take effect on 19 April.

E.ON is not increasing the unit price of electricity and gas, but is removing £30 worth of dual fuel and paperless discounts for customers on standard variable tariffs, meaning they will see a rise of 2.6%, taking a typical annual bill to £1,153.

The backdoor approach appeared designed to evade political flak, but a Whitehall source said the move was “another example of the big six unfairly attacking customers on standard variable tariffs”.


Source : theguardian