Anger as British Gas prices surge
Energy giants’ 12.5% electricity rise to hit 3.1million customers
BRITISH Gas were last night facing a backlash over plans to hike electricity prices by 12.5 per cent for 3.1million customers.
The energy giants said the rise would come into affect on September 15 and insisted they were protecting 200,000 vulnerable customers from the increase.
An average dual fuel bill for a typical annual household tariff will rise by £76 to £1120 – a 7.3 per cent increase.
But they were last night criticised for the move as experts urged customers to switch providers.
Money saving expert Martin Lewis said: “Let this be a clarion call for British Gas customers – do not sit on your backside and just take this.
“For someone with typical use, on British Gas’s standard tariff, you’re paying £1120 a year from September. The cheapest tariffs on the market are £844 for the same usage.”
Centrica-owed British Gas appear to have been forced into confirming the hike after a blunder on Monday saw the plans announced online.
A headline revealing the price rise was followed by “blah, blah, blah” suggesting it was incomplete. Details of the increase comes as British Gas owners Centrica posted half-year results revealing earnings from their consumer business plunged by more than a quarter after they lost 377,000 UK customer accounts in the first half.
Underlying operating profits from their UK home energy supply arm tumbled 26 per cent to £381million as the group said they were also hit by warmer than normal temperatures and the prepayment tariff cap.
Centrica said they will give more than 200,000 customers receiving a warm home discount a £76 credit to offset the tariff increase.
Mark Hodges, chief executive of Centrica Consumer, said: “We held off increasing prices longer than most suppliers in order to protect our customers from rising costs, so it is a difficult decision to have to announce an increase in electricity prices.”
A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokeswoman said: “We’re concerned this price rise will hit many people already on poor-value tariffs.”