EDF add dual fuel to the fire
FEARS OF MORE FLIGHTS CHAOS Anger at second price rise in three months
EASYJET have added to fears over a summer of travel chaos as they revealed nearly 1300 flights were cancelled last month, with no end in sight to air traffic control strike action.
The budget airline cancelled 1263 flights in June – about 900 of them due to French and Italian strike action and a further 150 caused by air traffic control restrictions and poor weather.
It marks a steep increase on the 974 easyJet flights cancelled in May, and compares with just 213 a year earlier. The figures come just a day after Ryanair said strike action on the Continent left more than 210,000 of their passengers hit by flight cancellations in June. POUNDWORLD founder Chris Edwards said talks to save 186 branches and 3000 jobs have broken down. Edwards, who sold the business to private equity firm TPG in 2015, had been in discussions with adminstrators Deloitte. He said: “They’ve come back and said our offer isn’t good enough.” ENERGY giants EDF were accused of exploiting World Cup fever and the sunshine to unleash their second price hike in three months.
Customers were urged to punish the firm by switching after they announced their standard dual fuel tariff would jump six per cent from August 31.
It comes just a month after the supplier upped dual-fuel bills by 1.4 per cent, with electricity up 2.7 per cent and a £6 sting for those paying by cash or cheque.
The latest rise will increase the average bill of an EDF customer by £70 to £1228 a year.
Experts warned rival suppliers could now follow suit, bringing fresh misery for millions of households.
EDF blamed the increase on an 18 per cent spike in wholesale prices this year, with the “Beast from the East” storms reducing gas storage stocks and the knock-on impact of higher oil prices.
The price rise, which will hit 1.3mil lion customers, was condemned.
Mark Todd, co-founder of the website Energyhelpline, said: “This new rise is particularly cruel following the hottest summer days yet.”
Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis said: “They are sneaking this one through while the t sun’s shining, hoping most people’s focus will be on the football and the weathereather rather than its price hike.”
He added: “The big questionon is, ‘Is this the start of another roundund of hikes?’”
Alan Whitehead, Labour’s shadow minister for energy and climatelimate change, said: “The Governmentnment promised to implement Labour’sabour’s energy price cap idea over a year ago and they’ve still not delivered.vered.
“Theresa May’s constant ducking and weaving of responsibilitysibility has left bill payers facing anothernother huge hike and now we hearar that her £100 saving promise may not materialise.
“Labour have pushed for a price cap for years and will protectrotect customers with an immediatete cap.”
Shona Eyre, of uSwitch.com,m, said: “The good news is that customerstomers can quickly and easily protectrotect themselves by switching andnd save up to £482 at the same time.”.”