SSE slaps an extra £90 a year on energy bills

CUSTOMERS of energy giant SSE will be hammered with price rises of nearly £90 a year, in the largest increase of the “Big Six” gas and electricity firms.

The rise in SSE’s Standard Variable Tariff of up to £87 will see average bills of £1,196 for about 2.4 million households.

The whopping 6.7 per cent increase will add an extra £179million to the coffers of a company that made a pre-tax profit of £1.45billion over the past financial year.

SSE’s announcement also includes the removal of its £6-per-fuel paperless discount for variable and new fixed plans.

The latest hike follows price rises from British Gas, EDF, Scottish Power and Npower, with E.ON scrapping online discounts.

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com said yesterday: “Anyone on a Big Six standard tariff is ripping themselves off by failing to take action. Switch firm and you could cut bills to almost £800 a year, even with the same usage.”

SSE’s changes, from July 11, will see a 5.7 per cent gas and 7.7 per cent electricity price rise.

Victoria Arrington of energyhelpline, said: “SSE Standard Variable Tariff customers could be saving around £400 a year by switching to the cheapest tariff on the market.”

Stephen Forbes of SSE Energy Services said: “As we’ve seen with recent adjustments to Ofgem’s price caps, the cost of supplying energy is increasing and this ultimately impacts the prices we’re able to offer customers.”