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Yet another Round of Price Hikes on the Way

All six of the big energy firms in the UK have now announced energy rate increases, with both electricity and gas prices going up and making it increasingly difficult for households to many households to pay their energy bills. The price increase breakdowns are as follows:

• British Gas has already raised gas prices by 18pct and electricity prices by 16pct (took effect August 18).
• Scottish Power has already raised gas prices by 19pct and electricity prices by 10pct (took effect in August 2011).
• E.ON has already raised gas prices by 18pct and electricity prices by 11pct (took effect September 13)
• Scottish and Southern Energy has already raised gas prices by 19pct and electricity by 12pct (took effect September 14).
• Npower will raise gas prices by 15.7pct and electricity prices by 7.2pct (will take effect October 1).
• EDF Energy will raise gas prices by 15.4pct and electricity prices by 4.5pct (will take effect November 10).

These energy prices are expected to be introduced over the next several months depending on the provider, with average dual fuel energy bills rising close to £1,096 to £1,300 per year. This will add between £175 and £192 to the average dual fuel customer’s bill. Most of these energy companies had already raised their energy prices within the last year, causing a totally 12-month increase near 25+pct for some customers.

Many reasons have been cited for these energy price increases, including:

• Necessary investments in energy for the future.
• A volatile global wholesale gas market driven by increased Asian consumption and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
• Costs associated with meeting Government environment and social programmes.

These factors will continue to play a role in energy prices in the UK, almost guaranteeing additional prices increases in the months and years to come. If ever there was an argument for increasing our buildings’ energy efficiency, this is it.