Renewables specialist Good Energy faced with 2.2% energy bill increase

Renewable energy supplier Good Energy, which broke the mould in November with a winter price freeze, has been forced to increase dual fuel bills by 2.2%.

It said these changes were because of “costs which are outside [its] control”, including increased transmission and metering charges. A 1.9% rise in renewable energy costs – in part down to more people generating their own electricity – is also somewhat to blame.

However, Good Energy added that even with the increase – which will see the average bill rise from £1,173 a year to £1,199 – the dual fuel rate was still cheaper than the standard tariffs offered by the big six suppliers.

The change will come into place on April 2. The company said that its electricity prices would also be going up by 3.7%, amounting to a £19.50 annual increase on average.

“We recognise that budgeting for energy bills has become increasingly a matter of concern for consumers”, Good Energy’s founder and CEO, Juliet Davenport, said.

“So we’ve been working hard to improve our electricity forecasting and trading, which has meant we’ve been able to reduce the amount we spend on power purchase. At the same time, the excellent performance of our Delabole Wind Farm has helped us further control the amount we need to spend.

“However, this has been countered by some of the other costs we incur in supplying gas and electricity to our customers which will rise at the beginning of April, and we need to reflect this in our prices.”

Good Energy – along with fellow renewable energy supplier Ecotricity – froze energy bills for the winter at a time when the mainstream providers were ramping up prices. The pair were also named the best suppliers for customer satisfaction in a Which? survey from January.

All big six firms – British Gas, E.ON, EDF, SSE, Npower and Scottish Power – pushed up bills at the back end of 2013. This led David Cameron to review the impact of environmental and social taxes, and subsequently move certain measures into general taxation.

Good Energy’s dual fuel price rise will see the average domestic customer pay an extra 50p a week.

Despite the increase, Davenport added that Good Energy’s role as a specialist renewable energy supplier was crucial in the low-carbon transition.

She said, “In a world where the UK is becoming increasingly reliant on energy imports, renewables can play a growing part in helping us to achieve energy self-sufficiency and security in the longer term.”

Further reading:

Renewable energy suppliers back calls for more efficient switching

Government poll: 77% of Britons support renewable energy

Renewable energy specialists Good Energy and Ecotricity ‘setting benchmark’ in customer satisfaction

Energy switching: out of the frying pan into the fire

The Guide to Limitless Clean Energy 2013