Families braced for British Gas price hike despite profit bonanza

MILLIONS of British Gas customers have been warned to expect a price hike – just as its owner prepares to announce a £1.4billion profit haul.

Experts predict that the UK’s biggest energy supplier is preparing to confirm a sharp rise in the cost of its standard variable tariff.

Three big rivals – E.ON, EDF Energy and npower – this week rushed to confirm inflation-busting 10 per cent price rises from April 1. It leaves British Gas, SSE and Scottish Power as the remainder of the so-called Big Six yet to act.

Alex Neill, managing director of home services at consumer group Which?, said they were “expected to follow suit”.

The first three hikes match an increase in a price cap on standard variable tariff (SVT) and other default tariffs announced by industry regulator Ofgem on February 7.

A spokesman for British Gas said it “intends to adjust its standard variable tariff and default tariff pricing to broadly reflect these changes”.

Ofgem blamed the raising of the price cap on higher wholesale and other costs.

It comes as British Gas parent company Centrica is next week forecast to announce that annual profits jumped by around 13 per cent to just over £1.4billion.

The energy supply arm of British Gas accounted for £572million of the £1.25billion which the wider Centrica group made in 2017.

The supplier withdrew its standard variable tariff for new customers at the end of March last year.

However millions of existing households are still contracted to it.

British Gas customers who come to the end of a fixed price deal roll onto a “temporary” tariff instead, although it costs the same as its standard variable rate.