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The UK's biggest domestic energy firm has hit millions of households with its biggest-ever hike in gas bills.

British Gas, which has 15.9 million customers, is raising gas prices by a record 35%, with electricity prices up 9%. A 25% rise for dual fuel bills means customers will now pay an average of £1,317 a year - £404 more than at the beginning of the year after British Gas also raised prices in January.

The firm is blaming soaring wholesale energy costs for the latest hikes, which come just days after rival EDF Energy also upped prices. The rest of the UK's "big six" energy firms are set to follow suit shortly.

British Gas sought to allay mounting fears over fuel poverty by delaying the price hikes for 340,000 customers on its Essentials tariff until next April, saving up to £214 per customer. But campaigners said it pushed thousands of households closer to fuel poverty, when people spend more than 10% of their income on energy needs.

Adam Scorer, campaigns director of independent consumer group Energywatch, said the firm's gas prices had more than doubled since 2003, adding: "High prices seem hardwired into this market for the foreseeable future. That hits the poor the hardest."

Age Concern director-general Gordon Lishman called the rises a "hammer blow for vulnerable groups", adding: "It is absolutely unacceptable that around 2.25 million pensioner households are now living in fuel poverty, and thousands more will soon be facing the same fate."

British Gas, which is owned by parent company Centrica, said it was left with no choice after increasing global demand, diminishing UK gas reserves and record oil prices pushed up its costs. But it said standard-rate customers will not be hit with any further prices rises this year, while 2.1 million fixed-rate customers will not pay any extra at all.

The firm added that it was currently selling energy at a loss as it struggles to cope with an extra £2 billion in costs. Wholesale gas prices for the coming winter were 89% ahead of last year, it said.

British Gas managing director Phil Bentley said: "We very much regret that we have had to make this decision at a time when many household budgets are already under pressure. The simple fact, though, is that we have entered an era of unprecedented high world energy prices.

"We can't absorb the impact of such high wholesale prices."

Source
The Press Association

This is total and utter bollocks, in February Centrica reported a 40% rise in operating profits to £1.95 billion, this is OBSCENE, it's high time members of the public started trashing their company vehicles and set fire to the whole lot of these thieving bastards

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