Electricity bills for Co-op Energy customers set to rise in May

The Co-op has announced that it will be raising the cost of electricity on its Pioneer Variable tariff from May 2014.

As some small energy providers battle to attract customers with lower tariffs, Co-operative Energy has announced that it will be heading in the other direction and increasing the price of electricity from 27th May.

The Pioneer Variable 5.1 tariff will be replaced by Pioneer Variable 5.2 from this date, with prices expected to rise by around “£2.21 per month for the average electricity customer,” which adds up to a £26.50 a year price hike.

According to price comparison site EnergyHelpline, this is an increase of 5.6%. This will bring the cost of the tariff up to an average of £1,176 a year at medium usage, although this will still be a savings of around £139 on the typical annual dual fuel bill of £1,315.

Why prices are rising

Co-op has attributed the price rise to energy industry regulated costs including the “Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Renewable Energy and Feed-In Tariffs,” as well as increased distribution and transmission costs.

Ramsay Dunning, Group General Manager, states: “At Co-operative Energy we are committed to being fair, transparent and open with our customers and we ensure that our prices remain cost reflective at the time when the costs are incurred.

"We pledged to offer fair pricing and even after this increase we will still be competitively priced against the Big Six’s standard tariffs. We are not increasing prices to reward financial investors.  We are simply no longer able to absorb these Government-imposed costs.”

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Time to switch?

If you’re considering switching suppliers, there are plenty of cheaper tariffs out there.

This table compares the UK's cheapest energy tariffs on standard monthly direct debit against the new Co-op prices:

Source: energyhelpline.com, 23/04/14. Saving calculated against the new average bill of £1,177 for Co-op Pioneer Variable (their standard tariff). All calculations are for an average usage dual fuel household paying by standard monthly direct debit. Average usage as defined by Ofgem is 13,500 kWh pa of gas and 3,200 kWh pa of electricity

The Co-op say that there will be no increase to customer’s gas charges.

Changes coming

Energy firms have also reached an agreement with the Government to half the time switching takes by the end of the year, and Ofgem are currently campaigning to get people to actively switch suppliers. Its new 'Be An Energy Shopper' campaign is highlighting recent changes including a reduction in the number of tariffs available, and more advanced notification of price changes.

Compare energy tariffs and see if you could save

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