SSE hits more than two million customers with energy price hike

'Big six' energy company SSE has increased its prices for more than two million customers.

The price hike, effective from 11 July, will lead to standard dual fuel customers paying an average of 6.7 per cent more for their energy.

That means customers with typical dual fuel bills will pay £76 more per year.

SSE also said it was removing its £6 per fuel, per year, paperless billing discount from 11 July.

It blamed the price hike on increased wholesale prices and policy costs.

Chief commercial officer Stephen Forbes said: "We deeply regret having to raise prices and have worked hard to withstand the increasing costs that are largely outside our control by reducing our own internal costs.”

“Increasing energy prices is always a last resort. However, sustained increases in the cost of supplying energy, principally from higher wholesale energy prices and the cost of delivering government policy initiatives designed to modernise and decarbonise Britain’s energy system, must eventually be reflected in prices. Policies such as those that support low-carbon forms of electricity generation and the national roll-out of smart meters offer benefits for customers in the long term, but require significant up-front investments which are funded through energy bills,” he said.

Forbes also argued that low carbon policies should be funded out of taxation rather than through energy bills.

"SSE Energy Services continues to believe that these policies should instead be funded more fairly through means-tested general taxation,” he said.

The move by SSE means that all of the big six energy companies have announced price increases this year.

Earlier this month Npower increased its prices by 5.3 per cent.

Both British Gas and Scottish Power are set to boost bills by 5.5 per cent, affecting more than five million people, while EDF has a 2.7 per cent price increase coming into effect on 7 June for 1.2 million people.

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