Reduced wholesale costs could pressure energy suppliers - 25/02/2009
Wholesale costs in the UK market could fall in the next few weeks, increasing the pressure on energy suppliers to introduce further price cuts, reports Reuters.
A combination of factors has contributed to sustained wholesale falls, including reduced demand as a result of homeowners using less in response to the recession and the reactivation of several nuclear plants boosting supply.
Energy suppliers have only announced a few modest price cuts so far but experts say it is likely they will be under much greater pressure to do more in the coming weeks and months.
David Cox, chief consultant at London's Poyry Energy Consulting, told the news agency: "We are coming out of winter... we have had slowdown in demand worldwide because of recession. We have new LNG (liquefied natural gas) sources coming into the market."
Supplies of LNG have increased dramatically on last year's figures while the reactivation of nuclear sites should relieve pressure on gas plants.
Consumers could switch gas supplier if prices do not fall in the near future.
The UK's major energy suppliers have been criticised for failing to reduce consumer costs as quickly as they were raised.
If you want to find out more about how to compare energy suppliers and save up to £378 in minutes, click here.
Save up to £300 on your gas & electricity bills at energyhelpline.com
Compare prices from all energy suppliers to find your best deal