CONSUMERS will see their electricity and gas bills cut after energy firms persuaded Westminster to reduce so called "green tax."

CONSUMERS will see their electricity and gas bills cut after energy firms persuaded Westminster to reduce so called "green tax."

ScottishPower has already announced that dual fuel customers will see their annual bills drop by £54 when the reductions are introduced from January 31.

Their standard tariff will be cut by 3.3%, which will trigger an annual saving of £42, while a universal rebate of £12 will make up the £54 saving.

Those with electricity-only deals will see a yearly saving of 3.2% on their bill while gas-only customers will bank a 3.3% saving.

ScottishPower Retail and Generation chief Neil Clitheroe said: "Following the Government's recent announcement on reducing the impact of green and social levies on consumer energy bills, we will be passing these cost reductions on to customers this month. We are pleased that the Government has taken sensible measures to curb these rising costs.

"We recognise that we need to continue to work hard to reduce bills for our customers through offering competitive fixed priced products and comprehensive energy efficiency advice. As part of this commitment, we will try to avoid any further price rises in 2014 but this will depend on whether there are increases in wholesale energy prices or other costs outside of our control.

"We also recognise the importance of delivering quality service. Over the last few years, we have consistently improved our customer service scores across independent surveys. We will continue this progress through improving our systems and website, increasing training and continually introducing new, improved services such as our new free phone number."

gordon.thomson@ eveningtimes.co.uk