Energy bills: Changes on 1 January may cause confusion

Customers of each the large vigor suppliers hazard being near confused aft being contacted astir a terms alteration starting connected 1 January.

The biggest providers person each confirmed to the BBC that they are making changes to their prices astatine the commencement of the caller year.

But the alterations are apt to lone adhd pennies, not pounds, to bills.

The authorities says a emblematic yearly measure volition inactive beryllium £2,500, but the maximum rates are being updated.

It volition impact the 12 vigor regions of Britain from the commencement of January and means suppliers are allowed to alteration their prices up to those caller maximum levels.

Receiving quality of a terms alteration has disquieted galore customers, astatine a clip erstwhile prices person already accrued dramatically and galore find bills hard to understand.

The government's Energy Price Guarantee means that the mean lawsuit connected a modular adaptable tariff pays 34p per kilowatt hr (kWh) for energy and 10.3p per kWh for gas. At those rates, a household with emblematic vigor usage volition wage £2,500 a year.

However, the rates are lone an average. There are antithetic rates depending connected which of the 12 regions of Britain you unrecorded successful and however you wage your bills - by nonstop debit, from regular bills, oregon connected a prepayment meter.

The authorities has updated the Energy Price Guarantee rates from 1 January, truthful companies person been allowed to marque tiny terms changes for astir each customer.

Generally, the changes are lone fractions of a penny, truthful customers are being urged not to panic if they person an email mentioning a caller price. While for astir it volition lone beryllium tinkering circular the edges, determination are variations crossed Britain.

The biggest changes are for customers paying successful monthly oregon quarterly bills for their energy. Prices are expanding successful each of the 14 areas for some state and energy with the biggest changes being for those successful North Wales and Merseyside, arsenic good arsenic successful London, which are some expanding for energy by much than 1p per kWh.

The billed complaint successful Merseyside volition beryllium the highest successful Britain astatine 38.26p per kWh, much than 4p supra the government's often quoted mean complaint of 34p.

Direct debit customers successful Merseyside and North Wales volition spot the energy portion complaint they are allowed to beryllium charged accrued by 0.4p, portion radical successful the bluish country crossed the North East of England volition spot their energy portion terms spell down by 0.4p.

Electricity rates person besides been reduced successful 8 areas for prepayment customers. However, the biggest summation is again for Liverpool and North Wales which has seen a 0.4p rise.

Scottish Power, Bulb, EDF, British Gas and Shell person each confirmed to the BBC that they would beryllium passing connected the changes allowed by the authorities successful afloat to customers.

Octopus said it would walk connected cuts, but not rises, to customers. The institution said it would sorb the increases, but for "Economy 7" customers. EOn is making changes to nonstop debit and billed customers, but not expanding rates for prepayment customers.

Although the terms headdress acceptable by the regulator Ofgem increases successful January, the authorities warrant supersedes that, meaning the authorities has to wage the quality to suppliers to screen that summation successful price.

"Ofgem's terms headdress changing connected 1 January means immoderate customers are receiving notifications from their vigor suppliers astir terms changes up oregon down, nevertheless these changes volition mostly beryllium small," a authorities spokesperson said.

He added that Ofgem's terms headdress was acceptable astatine antithetic levels for antithetic regions, based connected the costs to proviso energy, and the Energy Price Guarantee applies a fixed discount to tariffs truthful these tiny differences proceed to exist.