Experts warn household energy bills could hit £1,300 by the end of the year
June 13, 2008
The average household energy bill could rise to £1,300 by the end of the year, as wholesale gas prices climb.
A price rise such as this would mean that bills for both gas and electricity will have risen by more than 40% in 2008.
The bill rise warning has come from a number of industry experts, who are worried that some gas companies have already started rising prices.
The wholesale gas price, which is the price gas companies buy it at, reached a record high. This means the price has increased 76% since the beginning of the year.
Some senior executives of Britain’s biggest gas companies have warned that prices will have to go up to recover increased costs. The rise could come as soon as August.
Mark Todd, director at energyhelpline.com, a consumer website said “These are the first price rises of the summer, but unfortunately for us, they’re unlikely to be the last.”
“We expect 10 to 20% across the board price rises to be upon us by the end of August.”
Tim Wolfenden, head of homeservices at Uswitch, the price comparison predicts that prices will rise by 46% this year. He said “A few months ago we thought a 10% price rise this summer, and then a further 15% in the winter was a conservative estimate. But events of recent weeks makes us think this is now likely to happen sooner rather than later.”
“Suppliers will not want to increase their customers’ bills this amount all in one go, so it is likely to be done on a drip, drip approach.”
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