Households will feel an extra chill on their finances from today as their energy tariffs are hiked.
E.ON is the last of the big six energy giants to increase its tariffs this winter, meaning that its typical standard dual fuel customer paying by cash or cheque will see their bill rise by around £110 a year to £1,370.
The latest price hike comes at a time when households are turning up the thermostat, with forecasters saying Britain will be coated in up to 10in (25cm) of snow today.
Comparison website Confused.com said that the recent increases have widened the gap between the cheapest tariffs on the market and the standard deals being offered by the big six companies to more than £300 a year.
Two years ago, customers on standard dual fuel tariffs were paying up to 23% or £221 a year more than those on the cheapest deals, but the latest round of hikes has increased the price gap to almost a third (30%) or £312, the website said.
E.ON’s announcement last month that it planned to put up its prices followed a string of similar confirmations from SSE, British Gas, npower, Scottish Power and EDF.
Having pledged in May to keep residential energy prices on hold during 2012, E.ON blamed the new year hikes on increased costs that make up energy bills, including the price of energy on the wholesale market and regulatory costs.
E.ON’s average dual fuel bill will increase by 8.7%, with electricity rising 7.7% and gas by 9.4%.
According to research by MoneySupermarket.com, households typically use around 40% of their annual energy consumption during the winter months, making the next average quarterly standard bill likely to be well over £500.
The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (FPAG) recently estimated that 300,000 more homes were pushed into fuel poverty over Christmas, meaning these families are spending more than 10% of their incomes on keeping their homes warm.
Kate Rose, head of energy at Confused.com, said: “There are still many households who have never switched supplier and could therefore be paying over £300 a year more, which is a staggering 30% more than people that have shopped around or switched to one of the cheapest tariffs on the market.
“With temperatures dropping, increasing energy prices continue to be a significant worry to millions of households.”