British Gas Increases Gas And Electricity Prices By 7%

British Gas is increasing its gas and electricity prices by 7% from the 10th December. This price hike will affect eight million customers.

Blaming a 25% rise in the cost of wholesale energy costs, British Gas will be charging a typical dual fuel customer an extra £1.50 per week, although customers on the “Essentials” price deal will see their existing prices maintained until 1st April.

This announcement from British gas follows recently announced price hikes from Southern Energy who are increasing their gas prices by 9.4% from 1st December.

However, EDF Energy, another one of the big six energy companies, have promised to freeze their standard tariff prices until at least March 2011.

EDF Energy is also offering new customers who switch to their Dual Fuel Online S@ver Version 7 tariff a £100 Welcome Bonus.

After a two year lull household energy prices are about to resume their steady climb upwards again. Unfortunately for consumers, the 8% or £99 reduction seen over the last two years failed miserably to reverse the impact of the 42% or £381 increase seen in 2008.”

“And now, whatever small benefit was seen is about to be wiped back out again. This will be cold comfort indeed to British consumers who are now facing an extremely bleak winter.”, comments Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com.

“There is no room for complacency and I would urge consumers to act now. There are two key steps to keeping a lid on your energy bills – use less energy by making your home more energy efficient and move to a competitive energy plan so that you pay less for the energy you do use.”

“The difference between the cheapest energy plan in the market and the most expensive standard plan is £422 – this is a substantial saving and could make a real difference for those who are worried or struggling with bills.”, she advises.