British Gas ups electricity prices by 12.5 per cent for millions of customers – despite FALLING costs
The energy giant said that an average annual duel fuel bill will rise by £76 a year - an increase of 7.3 per cent
BRITISH Gas is hiking electricity bills for millions of customers by 12.5 per cent - and has wrongly blamed rising costs.
It means a household on a standard dual fuel tariff will face paying £76 more a year, an increase of 7.3 per cent.
There was further fury as the news coincided with huge profits.
The firm, whose average dual fuel bill will rise to £1,120 a year, made £381million in six months, or more than £2million a day.
The energy giant announced the rise ahead of a price freeze on its standard tariff, which has been in place since November 2013, expiring at the end of this month.
It claims that the rise, which comes into effect on September 15, affects 3.1 million customers, while 5.3 million are unaffected.
Mark Hodges, chief executive or Centrica Consumer, said: “We held off increasing prices for many months 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.
"This rise reflects an underlying increase in policy and transmission costs."
However, since December, when parent company Centrica said it could afford to freeze prices, the combined cost of wholesale gas and electricity distribution has fallen by nine per cent, regulator Ofgem said.
British Gas has announced further protection for more than 200,000 customers who automatically receive the Warm Home Discount, as it will credit their account with £76 to protect them from the rise.
The firm also said it has made a number of recommendations to the government about how the energy market makes.
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These include phasing out the expensive standard tariff as well as further protection for the most vulnerable customers.
Yesterday, British Gas accidentally published a statement on its website announcing the rise.
It read: “Why we are having to raise electricity prices – our first increase since November 2013."
The body of the text only contained the words “blah blah”, suggesting that the post was posted before it was ready.
But the firm said it would not comment on price speculation.
How to switch energy suppliers and save money now
MILLIONS of households across the UK have never switched and are stuck paying more than they should.
If in doubt, call your provider and ask them to move you to their cheapest tariff.
Better still, use a comparison website like or Energyhelpline.com to find the very best deal for you.
The cheapest tariffs are usually found online and are fixed deals – meaning you guarantee how much you’ll pay for a set amount of time, usually 12 months.
Switching to a cheaper supplier could cut your bill by up to £300 a year.
The amount you pay varies depending on where you live and how much energy you use.
The rise follows a string of other price hikes from providers, which will hit customers just in time for winter.
Research by The Big Deal suggests that the energy giant should be cutting bills not putting them up.
It found that costs for energy companies, according to analysis of data from the energy regulator Ofgem, have fallen by nearly 9 per cent due to a decline in wholesale prices.
If customers on fixed deals don’t actively switch to cheaper deals they will be automatically rolled onto a more expensive tariff just as the colder weather kicks in.
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