Ovo Energy breaks the mould with fourth price cut since September

Independent energy supplier Ovo Energy, which recently spoke out against the big six’s monopoly, has announced its fourth price decrease since September.

The energy firm said on Friday that it would be cutting its customers’ prices by 2.5%, which will mean a saving of £180 for those who switch from a mainstream supplier. It added that this was down to a fall in wholesale prices over the winter period, after mild temperatures in Britain.

Managing director of Ovo, Stephen Fitzpatrick, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, “What we’ve seen is the weather over this winter has been quite mild and it’s led to gas and electricity prices falling by about 6% or 7% and on top of that we are starting to see some impact from the government policy where they have asked distributors and network companies to try to reduce their cost.”

He added, “The rates that we are charged for accessing the pipes and the wires have fallen for next year following some government intervention, so that’s feeding through as well.”

Fitzpatrick spoke out against the monopolisation of the energy industry by the big six energy firms last year, saying that they were charging customers as much as they felt they could get away with. His comments came during a hearing in front of MPs, where energy bosses were asked questions about the price hikes.

Despite the government initially saying that switching was the only way for customers to keep energy bills down, energy secretary Ed Davey said last week that he would be launching a review into possible excessive profits at some of the firms.

Headquartered in Bristol and launched in 2009, Ovo energy was named Blue & Green Tomorrow’s sustainable energy provider of the year for 2013.

Further reading:

Ed Davey questions big six energy profits

2013 sustainable energy provider of the year: Ovo Energy

Big six energy bosses grilled by MPs over price hikes

7 in 10 UK households left the heating off because of winter bill worries

Energy customers switching suppliers at three-year high, says trade body