Bulb Energy prices to rise for a second time

Bulb Energy prices are set to go up in this month, making it the second price increase from the supplier in a matter of just a few months. Around 1.7 million Bulb customers will be affected, though they’re not the only ones - several other providers have also put up their rates, citing increasing wholesale costs as the reason for the hikes.

I’m a Bulb customer - how will I be affected?

Bulb only offers variable tariffs, so all of its 1.7 million customers with credit meters will be affected by Bulb Energy prices going up. Only customers on the provider’s Vari-Fair Prepay tariff will be unaffected by the increase, which could see customers’ bills go up by around £69 per year.

How your prices will change will depend on your usage and where you live, but in the table below we’ve outlined what a “typical energy user” would pay annually both before and after the increase:

Source: MoneySavingExpert

As you can see from the above table, which are based on our source’s estimates for a “typical” customer, Bulb Energy prices could go up by almost £70 a year for many when the increase comes into effect on the 21st of June. This will bring the yearly cost of the provider’s dual-fuel credit tariff up to just £12 below Ofgem’s price cap for tariffs of this kind.

Given the reputation Bulb has developed in recent years for fairness and affordability, this is a significant development which puts its point of difference when compared to the major providers in question. Bulb now only charges around a tenner less than the likes of British Gas or EON.

The provider puts the increase in Bulb Energy prices down to an increase in the wholesale cost of energy, which has risen by 29% since March, as a spokesperson for the provider made clear:

Wholesale energy prices have doubled since this time last year, and are up by a third since March. We therefore need to increase our prices by around £1.33 per week for a typical member. They'll still be below the price cap.

They were also quick to indicate that when wholesale prices drop, so will Bulb’s rates: “We pass on cost savings when the cost of supplying energy falls, so when it drops by more than £20 per year, so will our prices." This is encouraging, but it’s difficult to know when this will be, particularly in such uncertain times.

Bulb Energy prices not the only ones to rise

Bulb customers are not the only ones who will feel the pinch from this month, with a host of other providers also putting up their prices in response to wholesale costs rising. If you’re on a standard variable tariff with any of the following suppliers, you could be affected:

• Pure Planet
• Octopus Energy
• Ebico Living (as a subsidiary of Octopus)
• M&S Energy (as a subsidiary of Octopus)
• Co-op Energy (as a subsidiary of Octopus)
• Affect Energy (as a subsidiary of Octopus)
• London Power (as a subsidiary of Octopus)

Pure Planet customers on its ‘100% Green’ variable tariff will see their bills go up by an average of over £90 a year from the 22nd of June, while customers on Octopus’s Flexible Octopus tariff (and its equivalents across its white label providers) saw their bills go up by more than £50 a year just a couple of weeks ago.

It’s not just customers who are on variable tariffs that are affected by this - if you’re on a fixed tariff with one of the above providers, you will be rolled onto one of these variable tariffs once your term comes to an end. This means that most customers of Bulb, Pure Planet and Octopus should be aware of the rise and weigh up their options carefully.

Not happy with your rate going up?Whether you signed up for a variable tariff or you were rolled onto one when your fixed term ended, you’re able to switch to a new provider whenever you like without paying an exit fee. Don’t let your provider take advantage by pushing your rates up! Consider switching.