One industry source estimated the two-month delay could cost SSE customers a combined £20m extra on their energy bills. SSE's move was nevertheless praised as a "step in the right direction" by Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, who broke the news to much of the industry via an embargoed Department of Energy and Climate Change press release on Wednesday night. The unusual step, ahead of SSE's scheduled trading update on Thursday, appears to reflect the intense political pressure on suppliers. It also resulted in the energy giant facing criticism for its decision before it had even confirmed any details to the market. Martin Lewis, of Money Saving Expert, dismissed the cut as "trivial" and "nothing close to the drop in wholesale prices". "Energy firms must be whooping for joy that they can get away with such small cuts and have the energy minister praising them, albeit slightly," he said. Mark Todd, of price comparison site energyhelpline, said the cut was a "token gesture". "What’s even more disappointing is that taking two months to come in, winter will be well gone before any SSE customer sees the benefit," he said. Ann Robinson, director of policy at USwitch, said: "Not only is this another token-gesture cut but why should customers have to wait until after Easter to see reductions to their bills? Lower prices are good news but prices can and should be cut much further." SSE came in for heavy criticism last year when it announced a similarly-delayed price cut. The company has claimed it is unable to afford to cut as quickly as some of its rivals because it has bought more energy in advance at higher prices in order to honour its own voluntary "price freeze" policy, which was first announced in March 2014 and has since been extended until this summer. Will Morris, managing director for retail at SSE, said: "When we announced our price freeze, we promised that we would not increase prices but would cut them if we could – and that’s exactly what we’ve done. This is our third successive reduction in household gas prices and shows our commitment to getting prices as low as we can and to fight for customers in a fiercely competitive market." Wholesale electricity prices have also fallen over the past year, but SSE said it was not cutting consumer electricity prices due to "significant increases" in other costs such as green levies to subsidise wind and solar farms, network charges and the costs of new smart meters. Mr Morris said: "Wholesale energy prices account for an ever-smaller proportion of the bill and there are different cost issues affecting electricity and gas, but I am pleased that we will be able to bring down gas prices three months before our current price freeze is due to end." Ms Rudd said: "My top priority is to keep bills down for hardworking families and businesses. I’m absolutely clear that the market must provide a fair deal for consumers and that’s why I’ve been pressing energy companies to put their customers first and pass on savings to them. SSE has taken a step in the right direction and I urge other suppliers to follow suit. "The Government is also taking action to keep bills low by making it easier and quicker to switch, rolling out smart meters to every home and business, and increasing competition in the energy market."
Energy company SSE is to cut its household gas prices by 5.3% – but not until after Easter. The company, formerly known as Scottish and Southern, is the second "Big Six" energy supplier to announce a gas price cut the winter in the wake of falling wholesale prices. SSE claimed the cut would save a typical household £32 a year, bringing an average dual fuel energy bill down to £1,068 a year. The company was criticised for delaying the price cut until March 29, leaving its customers paying higher prices for the rest of this year. SSE came in for similar criticism last year when it also delayed a price cut.