We're sorry if you're not satisfied with our previous responses regarding current retail pricing, but they are in fact correct. You have referenced your own business energy bills having been reduced recently without prompting. This is because business contracts and residential contracts are entirely different. Your annual business contract is exactly that - we go to the market and buy a year's worth of energy to meet your business needs. Therefore, depending on the current state of the market, forecasting forward over a twelve month period will determine your annual bill. You are then fixed into a twelve month contract. For residential customers, suppliers purchase their energy using a mix of long and short term contracts - not just 12 months.
There are other factors too - wholesale gas prices increased by over 200% whereas npower retail prices only increased by 26%. Energy suppliers also have to take into account the turnover of customers - if we buy xx amount of energy for xx amount of customers and we end up with yy amount of customers then we are left with energy which may have gained or lost in value depending on market conditions. Another factor is seasonal average demand - if suppliers followed the wholesale market directly either on a quarterly or monthly basis last year, then residential bills would have increased by over 200% for gas alone.
