Scottish Power to cut UK gas prices after fall in wholesale costs

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LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Scottish Power on Tuesday became the third big British energy supplier to announce household gas price cuts in the wake of a fall in wholesale costs, raising pressure on three other rivals to follow suit.

Scottish Power, owned by Spain's Iberdrola, said it would cut average household gas prices by 4.8 percent from Feb. 20, reducing customers' average annual gas bills by 33 pounds ($50).

"We are pleased to be able to pass on this price reduction to our customers," said Neil Clitheroe, Scottish Power's CEO of Retail and Generation.

The move follows price reductions announced by rival suppliers Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) and E.ON this week and last. It puts pressure on the remaining members of the so-called 'Big Six' suppliers, EDF Energy, SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) and RWE (Swiss: RWE.SW - news) npower, to do the same.

Wholesale crude and gas prices in Europe have taken a tumble in recent months on the back of a global supply glut, reducing purchase costs for utilities.

Finance minister George Osborne, gearing up for a May general election, urged energy companies earlier this month to pass on those savings to customers, saying action could be taken if they failed to do so. ($1 = 0.6598 pounds) (Reporting by Karolin Schaps, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)