Price warnings for energy customers

28/04/2011

Gas and electricity companies have to give their customers 30 days notice of any price rise, under new rules that come into force on Thursday, April 28.

Under the old rules, energy companies had 65 days after any price rises in which to notify customers of the changes.

However, this has now been scrapped by watchdog Ofgem as part of plans aimed at giving households the opportunity to switch their provider before price changes come into effect.

Energy suppliers will also be required to tell their customers about any changes to their contract 30 days before they come into effect if the changes will leave customers significantly worse off.

All the "big six" energy providers have brought in price hikes in recent months, blaming the rising cost of gas and oil on the wholesale markets.

When the change was announced, Andrew Wright, Ofgem's senior partner for markets, said the changes would "show that we are serious about making sure suppliers play it straight with consumers".