British Gas to push up bills AGAIN for millions of customers by £44 a year
It's the third time in 13 months that the energy firm has hiked prices for 4.3million customers
MILLIONS of British Gas customers are facing paying up to £44 MORE a year for their gas and electricity bills.
It's the third bill hike the UK's biggest energy firm has announced in 13 months.
The changes to the variable rate deals will affect 4.3million customers and come into effect from October 1 this year.
It means that bill payers will now have to fork out £1,205 a year for their energy, up from £1,161.
Once again, British Gas has put the price hike down to rising wholesale costs, which has gone up by 20 per cent since April.
After yesterday's hike on the cap for vulnerable customers announced by the watchdog, it paves the way for all of the other energy firms to also push up bills.
How to switch suppliers and save £300
SWITCHING suppliers is the best way you can cut your energy bills. But recent research from MoneySuperMarket found that households are throwing away up to £300 a year by not bothering. Here's what you need to do.
1. Shop around - If you're on an expensive Standard Variable Tariff (SVT) deal you are throwing away up to £300 a year. Use a comparison site like MoneySuperMarket.com or EnergyHelpline.com to see what best deals are available to you.
The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed deals - meaning you'll pay a fixed amount usually for 12 months.
2. Switch - When you've found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information to hand - which you can find on your bill - to give the new supplier:
- Your postcode
- Name of your existing supplier
- Name of your existing deal and how much you pay
- An up-to-date meter reading
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won't be interrupted in that time.
For more advice read our guide on how to switch.
The only way to avoid the hikes is to switch tariffs before October.
British Gas withdrew the variable rate tariff back in March, but any customers who don't switch deals when their term comes to an end is automatically rolled on to a temporary tariff.
Any new customers wanting to take out this deal will now have to pay £1180 from October 1.
Homeowners will be feeling the pinch as the hike is hot on the heels of May's rate rise, which saw bills go up by £60 a year.
They'd already announced a 12.5 per cent rise to electricity bills in September last year, adding another £75 annually.
That means variable rate customers will be paying £179 a year from October 2018 than they were in August 2017.
In a statement, boss Mark Hodges said: "We fully understand that any price increase adds extra pressure on customers’ household bills.
He added: "Until now, we have been able to shield customer bills from the full impact of the increase in the wholesale costs because of the way we buy energy in advance."
LECC IT DOWN
By Daniel Jones, Consumer Editor
ENERGY giant E.ON is launching a new tariff where customers pay the same amount each month, however much gas and electricity they use.
But the catch with Secure Bill is customers have to sign up to getting a smart meter fitted, something many are trying to avoid after problems with them.
E.ON analyses gas and electricity used in the past year to come up with the amount to pay for the next year. UK boss Michael Lewis said: “This marks a significant shift towards making energy more personal.”
MOST READ IN MONEY
Guy Anker from MoneySavingExpert said: "Millions will rightly be furious with British Gas when they hear of yet another price hike, but it's customers who need to turn that anger into action.
"For someone with typical use, those on British Gas’s standard tariffs can save £100s a year by ditching and switching, and many firms that are far cheaper have vastly better customer service ratings.
"So the message is plain. If you do nothing you WILL be taken advantage of."
It's not the first energy firm to push up costs this year, with bills set to increase for 960,000 Scottish Power customers from June 1.
It came on the same day that the National Grid, operator of the UK's gas pipeline network, issued a "gas deficit warning" as intense demand from households outstrips supply.
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