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Energy firm set to hike gas prices
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has said that it will increase gas prices by 9.4% from 1 December, affecting 3.6 million customers.
The company blamed the increasing wholesale cost of buying gas which it said had gone up by 25% since March this year.
The price hike will cause the average household bill to increase by £4.56 per month.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, energy supply director at SSE, said: “The last few months have been marked by rising wholesale gas prices and, having absorbed losses in our gas supply business for some time, we can not delay an increase in retail prices any longer.
“I am sorry it will take effect during the winter period.”
Those affected include 380,000 customers in Scotland and 440,000 customers in Wales.
The energy firm has tried to help disadvantaged customers by pledging not to disconnect anyone during the winter.
It will also increase support for its older customers to £27m next year and help them pay back the bills in a way that suits their needs.