PRICE CUTS STILL ON THE AGENDA AS Amazon Web Services

							For immediate release: Wednesday 19th May, 2010

     PRICE CUTS STILL ON THE AGENDA AS ENERGY COMPANIES REPORT
                                     HEALTHY TRADING

Energy price cuts are still on the agenda after Britain‟s second biggest energy supplier
announced an 8% increase in Generation and Supply operating profits today[1]. The
announcement follows a flurry of recent statements from suppliers pointing to healthy UK
trading results, particularly against the backdrop of the recession. With profits up and wholesale
prices remaining low, households look set to benefit from further price cuts rather than price
hikes this year, says uSwitch.com:

   Britain’s second biggest energy supplier, Scottish and Southern Energy, reports
   operating profit in Generation and Supply of £896 million in 2009/10 compared with
   £832 million in the previous year[1]
   In February British Gas Residential reported a 58% increase in year-on-year profits –
   with operating profits up from £376 million to £595 million[2]
   RWE (npower) acknowledges ‘increased contributions’ and E.ON notes significantly
   increased EBIT from their respective UK arms so far in 2010[3]
    Energy prices rocketed by £381 or 42% in 2008[4], but price cuts this year and last
   amount to just £102 or 8%[5]
   Average annual household energy bill today is £1,194 - £282 or 31% higher than at the
   beginning of 2008[4]
   uSwitch.com urges consumers not to be panicked into fixing their energy prices now.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: “Talk of an increase in
household energy prices this year is premature at best and misleading at worst. The fact is that
the big six suppliers are still seeing healthy profits and have benefitted from low wholesale
prices for the last couple of years. This means they could be well-placed to cut their prices again
in 2010, which is great news for consumers.
“Even if forward wholesale prices do start to go up we are unlikely to see an immediate impact
on household bills. Because suppliers buy their energy in advance it can take up to two years
before wholesale price changes are reflected on our bills. The energy companies made this
point when explaining the delay in passing on price cuts to consumers so now we should expect
the same set of rules to apply if wholesale prices begin to rise.

“This year offers us a brief lull. But in the longer-term prices are expected to climb again and
many households will want to protect themselves from the impact of this by fixing their energy
prices. However, they shouldn‟t feel panicked into doing so today – it‟s important that they fix at
the right time, for the right price and for the right length of time.

“In the meantime, those who want to enjoy lower prices today should look to move onto a
competitive online energy plan. These are consistently the cheapest in the market and are
currently around £300 cheaper on average than suppliers‟ standard plans[6]. The fact is that
moving to an online plan still presents the biggest and best chance of a meaningful price cut this
year.”

Current average bill sizes:
                                                                       Standard Plan by               Online Plan by
                                    Standard Plan by Pay               Monthly Direct                 Monthly Direct
Supplier                            on Receipt of bill                 Debit                          Debit
British Gas                                £1,157                            £1,082                         £899
EDF Energy                                 £1,159                            £1,089                         £904
E.ON                                       £1,187                            £1,092                         £883
npower                                     £1,196                            £1,102                         £877
Scottish and Southern
                                                £1,162                           £1,104                         £896
Energy
ScottishPower                                   £1,305                           £1,103                         £910
Average                                         £1,194                           £1,095                         £895
Source: uSwitch.com
Based on a medium user consuming 20,500 kWh of gas and 3,300 kWh of electricity per year with prices averaged across all
regions.



               For more information visit www.uSwitch.com or call 0800 093 06 07

                                                         -Ends-

For more information please contact:
Jo Ganly, uSwitch.com on 0207 802 2915 or joganly@uswitch.com
Katie Hayward, Lansons Communications on 020 7294 3631 or katieh@lansons.com
Notes to editors:
1. Scottish and Southern Energy‟s preliminary results announcement Wednesday 19th May, 2010.
2. Centrica‟s results announcement Thursday 25th February, 2010.
3. „RWE gets off to a good start in 2010‟ issued 12th May, 2010 and „E.ON has strong first quarter‟ issued 11th May, 2010:
    http://www.eon.com/en/investors/news-detail-news.jsp?id=9706&year=2010;
    http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/113648/rwe/press-news/press-release/?pmid=4004878;
4. Following price rises by all big six suppliers in 2008, the average dual fuel bill increased from £912 to £1,293. Based on a
    medium user customer using 3,300 kWh of electricity and 20,500 kWh of gas, on a standard Dual Fuel plan, paying on receipt
    of bill with bill sizes averaged across all six suppliers and regions.
5. Average of big six price cuts announced to date in 2009 and 2010. This is based on a combined gas and electricity bill (see
    point 4 above).
6. Based on a medium user customer using 3,300 kWh of electricity and 20,500 kWh of gas, on an online Dual Fuel plan, paying
    by monthly direct debit with bill sizes averaged across all regions and all suppliers.

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