EDF will raise prices for dual fuel customers by 6% from August, the second such increase in a year, following June 2.7% increase in electric prices which saw dual fuel customers paying 1.4% more.
The French-owned energy company said the hike comes in response to a 13% increase in wholesale fuel prices since April and an 18% jump since the beginning of the year. EDF cited continuing oil price surges and a reduction of stored gas stock due to an unusually cold winter and March’s “Beast from the East” storm for the increases. EDF emphasised that Ofgem had acknowledged the wholesale price increases faced by energy suppliers when setting caps in April.
The changes, which will affect 40% of EDF’s customers, the 1.3 million people on standard variable tariffs, will come into effect 31 August.
The company’s standard variable dual fuel tariff will now be £1,228 a year, an increase of £70, or an extra £1.35 a week.
EDF stressed that 60% of its customers will not be affected by the upticks, including vulnerable customers protected by price caps. It urged customers worried about future price increases to consider a fixed price tariff.
“We know that another price rise will not be welcome, and we had hoped that our limited changes, announced in April, would be enough,” said EDF managing director of customers Béatrice Bigois. “However energy costs have continues to rise significantly and despite our best efforts to absorb some of these… sadly we can no longer sustain this.”
EDF is the second of the Big Six energy suppliers to raise prices for the second time this year, following E.On’s announcement of a 4.8% price increase on dual fuel tariffs in June. All Big Six suppliers have raised prices this year and EDF’s previous 2.7% increase in electric prices was lower than similar spring increases among competitors, including a 5.5% increase by British Gas, a 5.3% average uptick by nPower, a 5.5% rise by Scottish Power, and a 6.7% lift in tariffs from SSE.
EDF said it would be writing to customers, notifying them of the increase to their tariffs.
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