British Gas customers face price rises of up to 30 per cent next winter

Gas bills set to rocket by 30% next winter

Daily Mail

12th May 2008

Expensive power: British Gas customers face bills hike, sixteen million British Gas customers face price rises of up to 30 per cent next winter.

They have already seen charges go up seven times in five years, almost doubling the average dual fuel bill to more than £1,000.

A typical household now pays £653 a year for gas compared with £370 in 2003. The figure could hit £750 later this year.

In January, gas prices jumped 15 per cent while electricity charges moved up by between 12 and 19 per cent.

Another increase by British Gas is certain to be followed by its major rivals, sending thousands more customers on fixed incomes into "fuel poverty".

This is defined as a household which spends 10 per cent or more of its disposable income on energy.

Centrica, British Gas's parent company, is expected to sound a coded warning about higher charges at its annual meeting today. It is likely to say soaring wholesale prices must be passed on to its customers.

In a trading update to the London Stock Exchange, it is expected to say the price it is paying for supplies has almost doubled in a year.

Iain Turner, a research analyst at Deutsche Bank, said: "Gas and electricity prices are at record highs. They require Centrica to raise prices by a politically-difficult 20 per cent just to stand still."

A spokesman for Centrica declined yesterday to comment on the speculation about another price rise.

Last year, the firm imported around 27 per cent of its gas. The figure this year is expected to be 40 per cent, rising to 75 per cent by 2015.

Latest figures show British Gas Residential made operating profits of £571million in the past financial year, a six-fold increase on the previous 12 months.

Despite this, Centrica's share price is at a near two-year low and shareholders are pressing for a better return on their investments.