SSE has become the fifth big energy supplier to cut household bills in the wake in the slump in wholesale costs.
The 4.1 per cent cut in gas prices, equivalent to £28 off an annual gas bill, will not however take effect until April 30, when household consumption is minimal.
The company admitted that a voluntary price freeze, which it imposed last March, meant that “reductions to wholesale prices may take slightly longer to have an impact”.
SSE trumpeted the move, which guaranteed that prices would not rise until April 2016, as the longest voluntary price freeze.
The company bought more gas in advance to cover the period but since then wholesale gas prices have fallen by more than a quarter.
Buying more expensive gas