British Gas (LON: CNA) has announced plans to increase energy bills rise by 5.5 percent to £1,161 a year from the end of May.
Customers will pay an extra £60 a year as the UK’s biggest energy supplier blamed the increase in price on the rising wholesale gas and electricity prices.
“We fully understand that any price increase adds extra pressure on customers’ household bills,” said Mark Hodges, chief executive of Centrica Consumer, the parent company of British Gas.
“This increase we are announcing today is reflective of the costs we are seeing which are beyond our control,” he added.
The changes to British Gas energy bills comes just days after the government raised a price cap on five million vulnerable households.
The group recently announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs amid tough competition and the potential government price cap.
In March, E.ON also announced higher bills for gas and electricity. Customers will pay an average increase of £22 a year.
E.ON blamed rising costs, as well as claiming the changes to prices would “make it simpler and easier for customers to understand our tariffs and compare them with other suppliers in the market”.
Comparethemarket.com’ head of energy, Peter Earl expressed disappointed to see tariff simplification used as an excuse to raise bills for consumers.
“There is little justification for removing discounts and certainly not in the name of making billing simpler,” he said.
Soon after the price raises, analysts predicted further price increases from the big six energy companies.
