THE ENERGY price war intensified last week as more providers announced they were set to cut prices in a simultaneous bid to retain their own customers and poach from their rivals.

A series of tit-for-tat price reductions mean that the average annual bill for consumers could now fall as low as £752, down from more than £1000 a few weeks ago.

Powergen, the UK's second-largest energy supplier with six million customers, kick-started the week's latest round in the battle by saying it would reduce its energy prices - but only from April 30. Gas prices will fall by 16%, while electricity prices will drop 5%, cutting £92 off an average household bill.

The company's move follows price cuts last month announced by Scottish Gas, on both its single and dual fuel tariffs, and, a few days later, the energy company npower.

However, Powergen's price cut will kick in 49 days after Scottish Gas's, leading some experts to claim that the company was trying to make money by only reducing bills at the end of the winter period, when fuel bills are naturally higher.

TimWolfenden,seniorproduct manageratpricecomparisonsite uSwitch.com,says:"Unfortunately, Powergen has not quite hit the mark. Its customers will not be seeing the benefit of these cuts until the end of April - thatis62wholedaysfromits announcement until it begins putting its money where its mouth is."

Meanwhile, Scottish and Southern Energy responded by announcing its own cuts: gas down by 12% or £71 and electricity down by 5% or £19. The deal, which reduces the price of Scottish and Southern'sannualenergybillsfrom £962 to £874, or £777 if transacted online, pitches the company at least £40 cheaper than Powergen and almost £80 cheaper than Scottish Gas.

At the same time, Scottish Gas has dug even deeper, reducing the cost of itsdualfuelonlineenergytariff, ClickEnergy2,takingtheaverage annual bill to £752.

Paul Schofield, head of utilities at price comparison website Moneysupermarket,says:"BritishGashasstruck back and is now the cheapest dual fuel tariff available.

"With energy suppliers continuing to undercut each other at every turn, I doubt this will be the last we hear from the big six providers. More cuts in the market will mean greater competition and reduced bills for the consumer."

EDF Energy also tried to get in on the act, announcing that it is extending its ownonlinedualfueloffertomore regions, including in Scotland. But at £819 for an average annual fuel bill, its deal is still more expensive than the rest.

AlthoughthemajorityoftheUK's "Big Six" energy suppliers have now announced price cuts, experts believe more may be on the way as providers take note of their rivals' current offers and come back to the market with even better deals.

Wolfenden added: "There are more tactics being played in this price war than in a game of poker - we have seen bluffing and double bluffing and now the stakes have been raised once again."

Some experts have suggested waiting until all the deals are in place before moving to the cheapest one. However, Paul Schofield at Moneysupermarket argues that it may still make sense to switch supplier now: "You can complete a move in a matter of two weeks, which gives you the chance of benefiting from any existing price cuts. Meanwhile, if anything significantly better comes along later, you can switch to that option then."