NO WONDER WE’RE BITTER!

5.30am Scotland hit by the first serious snowfalls of winter 7.30am Energy giant SSE announces 8pc fuel bills hike

A TORY minister has called for a boycott of energy company SSE after it hiked bills by an average of £111 a year.

As a winter chill swept across Scotland, Britain’s secondbiggest energy firm said tariffs would rise by an inflation-busting 8.2 per cent for its 7.3million customers in the UK.

The increase will take the annual bill close to £1,500 for the firm’s one million Scots customers, forcing many families to make the nightmare choice between heating and eating. The row came as the country got its first glimpse of winter, with snow in the Cairngorms and 50mph winds battering the East Coast.

In parts of the country, the temperature fell by 8c in a matter of days.

energy and business minister Michael Fallon condemned the increase and advised customers to switch away from SSE.

However, the Perth-based firm hit back, blaming government green taxes for the rise.

Labour leader Ed Miliband seized on the news to justify his promise to impose a 20month freeze on energy prices if elected in 2015.

However, Mr Miliband is also vulnerable on the issue after he championed green taxes when he was Energy Secretary in the last Labour government.

The scale of the SSE price rise will vary depending on where customers live. Families in the South-East of England will see an increase of 9.7 per cent. Prices will also rise at the firm’s other brands, which include Scottish Hydro, Southern, Sweb, Swalec, Manweb and Norweb.

Other major suppliers are also expected to announce big increases within days.

However, there are cheaper options, including EDF and First Utility, which offer deals where tariffs are frozen until 2014 and beyond. Three-quarters of Scots already fear they will struggle to heat their homes. Pensioners and parents are most concerned about the impact of another bitterly cold winter – and many face difficult choices over when to put on heating.

The YouGov poll also found that 72 per cent of bill-payers were forced to cut back their spending last year in order to meet the demands of greedy energy firms.

Mr Fallon said he was ‘disappointed’ by the hike, which comes into effect on November 15. ‘I’d encourage all customers to look again at their tariffs and see if they can switch to a cheaper tariff,’ he added.

‘The real answer here is more competition and to encourage people to switch if they feel their costs are too high.

‘It is important that consumers have the power and information to be able to switch. We are encouraging that by simplifying the tariff structure.’

He dismissed Labour’s price freeze promise as a ‘gimmick’. The wholesale price of energy, which makes up half the bill, has risen by 4 per cent compared with a year ago.

In theory this should put up bills by 2 per cent, however SSE’s increase is 8.2 per cent.

The firm said this was because green taxes, which make up 10 per cent of the bill, have jumped by 13 per cent in a year. These cover subsidies to build wind farms and fund energyefficiency measures, such as schemes providing free loft insulation to some customers.

In addition, the amount that companies are charged to

‘Simplifying the tariff structure’

maintain and i mprove the National Grid is up by 10 per cent in a year. Much of this is associated with green energy – for example the need to connect wind farms to the grid.

The company said removing the green tax element from bills and transferring the cost to general taxation would reduce the average annual figure by £110.

SSE managing director Will Morris apologised to custom- ers and added: ‘ We know we will come in for a great deal of criticism for this decision and politicians will no doubt be lining up to condemn us.

‘But over many years, policy makers themselves have failed to highlight adequately the cost to consumers of the policies they have pursued.

‘They can’t expect to have power stations replaced with new technologies, the network to be upgraded and nationwide energy efficiency schemes all to be funded for free.’

Yesterday, Mr Miliband said: ‘The companies are putting up prices because we’ve got a broken energy market and they are ripping off consumers.

‘This latest scandal shows why the Government needs to act. The companies are trying to blame everyone else; the Government is trying to blame everyone else. They’re responsible; they’re not getting a grip.’

Consumer bodies last night slammed the price rise.

Adam Scorer, of Consumer Futures, said: ‘SSE and others who follow need to demonstrate why this rise is justified.

‘ Government also has to acknowledge that energy policies are adding to consumer bills and carbon taxes will make the burden heavier still.’