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British Gas has joined EDF Energy and npower by hiking the cost of gas and electricity for standard tariffs, its most popular
customer plan, potentially affecting over half its 16 million standard tariff customers. Customers face a massive 15% rise in
BOTH gas and electricity bills. And worst of all the price rises come into effect immediately.
Compare the latest energy deals
£85 increase in gas and £54 in electricity
The increases - an increase of 15% or £54 for electricity and 15% or £85 for gas will mean the average dual fuel customer’s
household energy bill will go up by £139 to £1,051. The move by British Gas completely wipes out last year’s decrease after only 8 months of
lower prices and shifts British Gas back into its old position as Britain’s most expensive gas supplier with gas bills going up to
£653 a year.
British Gas has also followed its fellow suppliers by citing increases in higher wholesale prices, rising delivery costs and
the cost of meeting government targets for energy efficiency.
However campaigners are calling for suppliers to justify sweeping price rises amid allegations that they are slow to pass on
price cuts, but quick to put prices up. Energy prices soared across the board by £277 (38%) on average between 1st January 2006 and
1st January 2007, but prices were only cut by £101 during 2007, despite a 56% decrease in wholesale energy prices. While 15
price rises in 2006 added £4.8 billion to consumer energy bills, price cuts in 2007 only shaved off £1.7 billion.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com,
comments: "The inflation busting price hike will leave 16 million consumers wondering what this company has done to deserve
their loyalty and continued custom in 2008. British Gas customers cannot afford to hang around. Unless they are already on a
competitive online deal they should move to a cheaper plan today to protect their household from the impact of higher energy bills."
Compare and switch your Gas or Electricity supplier
3 golden switching rules that could reduce your energy bills
With up to £325 in savings available, these 3 golden switching rules could give you cheaper gas and electricity bills in 2008.
1) Switch to an online plan - don't be
put off by it being called an 'online' plan as some suppliers will only expect you to register online and then manage your account in
the same way as before.
2) Switch to Direct Debit - if you
still pay on receipt of a bill, you are probably being charged a premium. Direct Debit is easy to set up and many suppliers offer a
discount for paying this way.
3) Switch to dual fuel - you could
save time and money. Not only could you benefit from dealing with just one bill, but these plans can offer a bigger discount.
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