Npower to cut electricity bills

RWE Npower has become the last of the energy giants to cut its bills for UK customers.

The German owned energy supplier will cut its electricity prices by 8 per cent from the end of March but will not be reducing gas prices.

On average this reduction will mean an annual saving of £43 for the company’s 6.1m customers.

Those on a standard tariff will benefit from just over £35 being taken off their bills, down to £1,245 a year.

Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com, said the cut would be cold comfort for those still struggling to pay their bills for energy used during the winter months.

Will Marples, energy expert at uSwitch.com, said: “By the end of March, the majority of consumers will be seeing some small benefit from lower wholesale energy prices. But it has taken time and price cuts will only make a small dent in household energy bills.”

Over 2008 gas and electricity bills rose by more than a third, and customers hoping for a serious cut in bills after wholesale prices fell have been disappointed.

On average the UK’s six largest providers, British Gas, Eon, Scottish and Southern Energy, EDF Energy and Scottish Power, have reduced bills by just 10 per cent since the start of 2009, despite calls from the government to make energy more affordable.

The best tariff on the market remains British Gas’s online Websaver 2 deal, a dual fuel deal that costs on average £1,054 a year for a medium user.

Consumers hoping to save more money have also been told to move from paper bills to an online tariff, pay by monthly direct debit and use one provider for both gas and electricity.