UK small energy supplier OVO Energy raises prices

* Dual fuel bill up 8.7 pct

* Wholesale prices have soared since June

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - OVO Energy, one of the independents challenging Britain's "Big Six" energy suppliers, has increased its price for dual gas and electricity monthly bills by 8.7 percent, it said on Thursday.

The company, which sells gas and electricity mainly to households, said the rise was necessary due to an increase in wholesale prices, which it said have risen by 32 percent for gas and 40 percent for electricity since June 10.

"Following the price change, which goes live on 3 November 2016, OVO's headline price for a dual fuel customer on its Better Energy tariff will be 997 pounds (up from 917 pounds)," it said in a statement.

OVO made its first profit in seven years in the first half of 2016. It said it expects to reach one million customers in 2017, or 2018, which would give it a roughly four percent market share, up from 2.7 percent now.

Small energy suppliers have been taking customers from Britain's "Big Six" over the past few years, and were able to offer cheaper deals due to lower operating costs.

However, their smaller size means they have less protection from rapid rises in wholesale power and gas prices, narrowing the gap in the discount they are able to offer.

The Big Six suppliers are SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) , Iberdrola (Amsterdam: ID6.AS - news) unit Scottish Power, Centrica (Frankfurt: A0DK6K - news) 's British Gas, RWE (LSE: 0FUZ.L - news) npower, E.ON and EDF Energy. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; editing by Jason Neely)