Energy price cuts will be a cold comfort for worried customers

(Getty Images) — Middle aged boiler technician servicing a domestic boiler

Last week, ScottishPower became the third of the “Big Six” energy firms to announce price cuts.

While no one is suggesting that a price cut is a bad thing, customers worried about the cost of heating their homes this winter won’t find much comfort.

Yet ScottishPower’s cut should see gas bills fall by just £32, and won’t take effect until March 15, when the weather should be warmer and most households will be using less energy.

Ben Wilson of Gocompare claims households could save more than £300 on their gas and electricity bills by ditching the Big Six.

He said: “The Big Six are playing a game with consumers and it simply isn’t good enough.

“Their focus seems to be on doing the bare minimum and benchmarking themselves on competitors, rather than genuinely passing on savings for consumers.

“While the Big Six take turns to line up and chip just £32 off their loyal customers’ standard gas bills, we have one of the most competitive price wars in recent times taking place in the energy market.

“The Top 10 dual-fuel best-buys are now all under £780, on average, a saving of up to £328 for those who switch.

“The sad reality for most energy customers is that the only way to guarantee they’re getting a good deal is by switching to take advantage of one of the cracking deals on offer at the moment.”

Comparethemarket says that, despite offering paltry cuts to their standard variable gas tariffs, the Big Six are offering some attractive fixed-rate dual fuel deals.

In January it saw the proportion of switches away from the Big Six to smaller companies fall by 20%.