Fergus Ewing
Leading energy suppliers should tell their customers when bills will start to drop, Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said last week.
Mr. Ewing’s call comes after it was revealed that heating oil users have largely benefitted from the reduction in global energy prices, with heating oil costs in Scotland and throughout the UK having fallen almost 40% in just under 12 months. However, electricity and mains gas users have not benefitted by the reduction in global energy costs to the same extent – despite wholesale gas costs falling 30% and wholesale electricity costs declining by 8% during the same period.
With energy utility EON recently announced it is to lower household gas prices by just 5.1% from February, Mr Ewing has written to the Chief Executives of UK energy suppliers calling for wholesale price reductions to be passed on to customers.
Mr Ewing said, “With wholesale gas and electricity costs falling, customers are entitled to know when they can expect to reap the benefits.
“Significantly lower wholesale prices should lead to lower bills and I want to see cost savings passed on to customers in full and as early as possible. In the interests of transparency and fairness, I have asked the leading energy suppliers to identify how these reductions are likely to be reflected in lower energy bills for households and businesses in Scotland.”
