Which? response to prepayment and vulnerable customer energy price cap increase on 1 April 2018

Alex Neill, Which? Managing Director of Home Products and Services, said:

“An increase to the price cap could see those on prepayment meters and vulnerable customers face a bill increase of up to £58 per year. There are lots of cheaper deals out there and people should look to switch as they could save up to £111 a year.

“Action needs to be taken by suppliers, the regulator and the Government, so that when the cap is eventually lifted this broken market is a thing of the past and all energy suppliers finally compete for customers by efficiently delivering better service and fair prices.”

Notes to editors:

• Customers looking for cheaper energy deals can compare deals with Which? Switch, a transparent and impartial way to compare energy tariffs and find the best gas and electricity supplier.
• A £111 saving is based on the cheapest deal data is from Energylinx, for a medium user (using Ofgem averages of 3,100kWh electricity and 12,000kWh gas per year), paying by prepayment meter. Deals are included if available in all GB regions and figures are averaged across all GB regions and rounded to the nearest pound. Data is correct on 29 March 2018.
• £1,089 is the maximum cap level as stated by Ofgem for a medium user (https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-acts-cut-1-million-vulnerable-households-bills).

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