Two more energy firms raise bills for 14m homes

MORE than 14 million UK homeowners face more rising gas and electricity bills after energy firms yesterday announced immediate plans to put prices up by almost a third.

Energy giants E.On and Scottish and Southern Energy both revealed moves to increase prices, just weeks after British Gas put its prices up by 35 per cent. Utility bills have soared due to the rising cost of wholesale gas and electricity.

Scottish and Southern Energy, which has more than one million Scottish customers, said that gas would go up by 29.2 per cent and electricity by 19.2 per cent on Monday.

E.On said gas would go up by 26 per cent and electricity by 16 per cent, from today.

Average household bills for a dual-fuel Scottish and Southern Energy customer were £875 at the beginning of the year. The average price will now rise £253 from £1,006 before today's announcement to £1,259 on Monday. This is an increase of 44 per cent or £384 since January.

The average price rise for E.On customers who take both gas and electricity will be 22 per cent. This will result in an annual bill rising £227 from £967 to £1,194 for those who pay their bills quarterly or by monthly direct debit.

Last night, Tim Wolfenden, head of home services at uSwitch.com, the price comparison website, said the recent rises in utility bills had seen essentials like electricity and gas become luxuries.

"Today's double whammy on energy price rises will send consumers reeling. Soaring energy bills pose a huge threat to our standard of living. Gas and electricity are essential commodities which have now become a luxury that many can no longer afford," he said.

"Consumers are going to have to adjust quickly and there are two key steps to this – making sure we pay the lowest possible price for our energy and learning to use less of it.

"Consumers should look to pay by direct debit and move to an online plan, if possible, to get the best available prices."

Alistair Phillips-Davies, energy supply director of Scottish and Southern Energy, insisted the firm could no longer hold off price rises.

He said: "Energy suppliers have to take steps towards covering their costs and I am sorry that we cannot delay these price rises any longer.

"Although this will be little consolation, these rises would have been even higher but for the fact wholesale prices fell a little in recent weeks. People are naturally very concerned about the many financial pressures they face."

Graham Bartlett, managing director of E.On's retail business, said:

"I'm very aware of the effect that today's announcement will have on our customers, and I recognise this is a very tough time for everyone."

He added: "This was not an easy decision and we've tried to keep these increases as low as possible while protecting as many of our customers as we can."

The move comes a day after wholesale gas prices jumped more than 14 per cent when a leak on a North Sea pipeline prompted fears about supplies this winter.