BURNING ANGER AT GAS HIKE
Huge increase is just ‘greed’
BRITISH Gas sparked fury last night after lifting its prices by an average of £60 a year.
The 5.5% rise will affect around four million gas and electricity customers and see bills up from £1,101 to £1,161.
It comes into force on May 29 and has been blamed on rising wholesale prices and Government policy costs.
Last night consumers vented their fury, demanding the Government renationalise the market to curb “excessive” rises.
Customer David Fowler said: “Nothing but pure greed.”
Mick Martin added: “It’s time to re-nationalise the service sector, water, gas & elec. Get the profits back in our coffers... not in the accounts of greedy CEOs and millionaire shareholders.”
Experts say British Gas’s standard tariff will now be £369 more expensive than the cheapest deal on the market.
Claire Osborne, from website uSwitch, said: “This is a bolt from the blue for the four million customers on British Gas’ Standard Variable Tariff.
“The danger now is that the rest of the Big Six suppliers may be tempted to follow suit. Customers can send the clearest message by switching supplier to a cheaper tariff, with savings of up to £491 on offer.” Energy Minister Claire Perry said she was “disappointed” by “an unjustified price rise when customers are already paying more than they need to”.
Mark Hodges, chief executive of Centrica which owns British Gas, said: “We fully understand any price increase adds extra pressure on customers’ household bills.”
The Star Says: Page 6