Critics say Scottish & Southern's energy price cuts are undercooked

Utility bills

The latest energy price reductions from Scottish & Southern Energy don't go far enough to compensate for the huge hikes of last year, according to price- comparison sites.

The energy provider cut the cost of electricity by 9 per cent and the price of gas by 4 per cent last week for its nine million customers, following a similar move by British Gas in the wake of falls in the wholesale price of energy.

"Scottish & Southern has undercut British Gas in the energy price war stakes," said Scott Byrom, utilities manager for Moneysupermarket.com. "From 30 March, households with an average consumption can expect to see a £66 drop in their annual bill to £1,193 a year. British Gas's new standard dual-fuel price, effective on 19 February, is £1,245 per annum – £52 more expensive. However, British Gas's online tariff, Websaver1, will still be the cheapest product on the market at £1,059 per annum.

Mr Byrom continued: "As far as [Scottish & Southern] bill payers are concerned, these drops do little to compensate for the record price increases of 2008 [47 per cent for gas and 28 per cent for electricity], and these are the prices they'll be paying for the heating used during the current big freeze."