British Gas announces 6% gas and electricity price rise

Major energy supplier British Gas has today (October 12th) announced that it is set to raise gas and electricity prices by six per cent across its range of residential and business tariffs, with the changes scheduled to come into effect on 16th November.

And the price hike is expected to add £80 to the annual dual fuel bill as a result.

The move by the UK's largest energy supplier mirrors a similar price increase introduced by SSE this October, which saw prices rise by as much as nine per cent.

It's feared that fellow members of the Big Six energy monopoly - E.On, nPower, EDF Energy and Scottish Power - will follow suit and raise prices either this winter or following a voluntary year-long prize freeze, meaning bills could further spiral come January 2013.

"This announcement will send consumers reeling," said uSwitch director of consumer policy Ann Robinson. "It is the death knell for any hope that suppliers would hold off from price rises until after winter."

British Gas's parent company Centrica this year announced profits of £345 million in its interim report based on the first six months of the year, and shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint said that many consumers would fail to understand why British Gas would need to introduce such price rise in light of such financial performance.

"People will not understand why British Gas are putting up prices after their interim financial report showed profits on UK residential customers up 23 per cent compared with the same period last year," she said.

But British Gas boss Phil Bentley said the price merely reflected the struggles of the energy giant to procure gas in a competitive market, as North Sea gas supplies start to run out.

As a result of today's announcements many homeowners will be looking to minimise their energy spending, and LED lighting can make a real difference to the average fuel bill over the life of a bulb.

Each LED light bulb uses around 8W of energy to illuminate a room - far less than the average 60W incandescent bulb - and lasts around 20 years.