will face a hefty 42% a year rise in energy bills from April, despite falling gas prices and the start of warmer weather, it has emerged.
Under the UK government's energy price guarantee scheme, the average household dual fuel energy bills will rise to £3,000 a year between April and June up from the current £2,500.The typical energy bill will now amount to around 10% of the average Scottish salary. It meant that three in four customers on default tariffs paying by direct debit saw an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1971 while the rest who are on prepayment meters - and tend to be among the most vulnerable - saw a rise of £708 from £1,309 to £2017.
But that is not expected to be in felt in time for the second quarter update, meaning a challenging period awaits households this spring. Larger companies, or those with more financial clout, are able to afford to hedge more but smaller companies are unable to do the same. Suppliers using the spot market have resulted in them selling energy at a loss.
“This increase will be especially difficult for pre-payment meter customers – who are more likely to be on lower incomes – to manage, as they can’t spread these increased costs out evenly over the coming year.