Manx Gas is to significantly reduce its tariff for Natural Gas customers for the second time in less than a year.
From the 1st October, all natural gas tariffs will be reduced by 0.5 pence per kWh.
This reduction will result in Natural Gas domestic central heating customers benefiting from a further 8.2% decrease in their tariff.
This decrease is equivalent to a saving of around ?100 on the heating bill for an average family home.
The reduction takes the overall savings for these customers to 23.5% since December 2008.
However, as a result of the instability of oil prices, and the increasing cost of purchasing Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) on the wholesale market, the tariff for LPG customers will rise by 1p per kWh on the same date. Customers using LPG for their central heating will see an increase of 15.1%.
LPG is a by-product of oil, which is why their prices are closely linked.
The majority of Manx Gas’s customers use Natural Gas to fuel their central heating systems.
“We are delighted to be able to reduce our Natural Gas prices for the second time within a year”, said Manx Gas Managing Director Alan Bates.
“We hope it will be really good news for our customers who use Natural Gas as we head into the colder months, particularly given the current financial climate”.
“As a result of reductions in the wholesale price of Natural Gas, we are now able to pass on savings to our customers.
"However, the reverse is true for LPG customers, because as a by-product of oil, its price is closely linked to oil prices, which remain unstable.
"Even so, LPG tariffs will still be between 8% and 10% cheaper than in 2008, when a drop of 25% in tariffs was recorded.
"We will continue to monitor the energy markets and maintain our pledge to reduce tariffs as soon as we can”.
The new tariffs have been discussed with the Office of Fair Trading.
Manx Gas customers can view the latest prices on www.manxgas.com, and can check the comparative costs of home heating by different fuels on the Office of Fair Trading website at www.gov.im/oft.
