Price hikes looming on energy bills

HOUSEHOLDERS are bracing themselves for higher energy bills after Centrica hinted further price hikes may be looming.

The power giant, which owns Scottish Gas, said higher wholesale prices had not yet been passed on to the consumer.

It is the second big power company to hint at further price rises. All the large firms have raised their prices in recent months, by an average of 5.9 per cent.

"The cheaper deals are being pulled so quickly that it is difficult to keep up," said Mark Todd, of Energyhelpline.com. "We are now seeing very real evidence of price rises across the domestic energy market."