02/11/2004

Rising costs sees Powergen announce price hikes

Powergen has announced price hikes for electricity and gas customers due to "unparalleled" rises in wholesale costs, it has emerged today.

The energy company confirmed today that it will increase electricity prices by 8.9% and gas prices by 9.6% for the majority of its residential customers. The changes will be effective from November 29. Age Concern Energy Services customers will be protected from this price increase until after the winter months.

Powergen said price rise reflects the surge in wholesale costs which have risen 39% for electricity and 49% for gas in the last six months.

At the same time, Powergen also announced an £8 million programme designed to give practical help to up to half a million of its most vulnerable customers.

Nick Horler, Managing Director of Powergen Retail, said: “This price rise is not a step we’ve taken lightly. All suppliers are currently affected by rising wholesale costs and we’ve delayed this increase for our customers longer than most of our competitors.

“We recognise this is a difficult time for some customers and we’re keen to offer everyone support and advice to minimise the impact of this price increase, which is why we’ve also moved quickly to provide our most vulnerable customers with special measures."

The £8 million package of measures consists of free cavity wall insulation which will be offered to all customers aged over 60 and those on income or disability related benefits. Cavity wall insulation could save each household around £160 a year on energy bills, the company said.

(gmcg/sp)

Related Northern Ireland Business News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

03 August 2001
Halifax report house price rises dip in July
Rampant house price rises at the start of the year have shown their first dip according to a new survey released by the Halifax. In July the average house price rise dropped off to 0.7 percent, which has been interpreted as the first sign that the early year rises of almost 11 per cent may be tailing off.
28 August 2001
UK hypermarket price war will benefit shoppers
A report by consultants Verdict Research has revealed that rivalry between UK supermarkets is set to escalate into a full-scale price war.
06 September 2011
Wholesale Market 'Forces Gas Price Rise'
The gas supplier, firmus energy - that has been providing natural gas since 2005 across Northern Ireland - has announced details of its new tariff, which will see domestic prices increase by 28.4% from 1st October.
03 November 2004
Billion-pound price cut won for NHS medicine bill
The government has won a billion-pound price cut in key medicines for the NHS, it has emerged today. The health department negotiated the 7% price reduction – totalling £1.8 billion over five years – for branded prescription medicines following nine months of discussions with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
14 June 2004
High demand for house building land fuels record price
Commercial property consultancy Lisney has confirmed the sale of the C&C warehouse complex on Ravenhill Avenue for what is a new record price for East Belfast. Following a short marketing period and an extremely competitive round of bidding the 1.87 acre site was sold at auction for £2.275 million, which equates to a record £1.2 million per acre.