British Gas to hike bills by £117 a year for 3.5million customers following rises by E.on, EDF Energy and Npower
MILLIONS of British Gas customers will be hit with price hikes of £117 a year - or 10 per cent - from April 1.
British Gas is now the fourth of the Big Six energy suppliers to announce price increases in just a matter of days, following in the footsteps of Eon, EDF and Npower.
The move will see 3.5million customers face average price hikes of £117 a year, with bills rising from an average of £1,137 to £1,254.
Prepayment meter customers will see bills rise by 9 per cent - or £106 a year - taking the average annual tariff price from £1,136 to £1,242.
Scottish Power and SSE have yet to show their cards but it's highly likely they'll announce hikes in the next couple of days.
So far, all of the providers have upped prices to the same levels as energy regulator Ofgem's new price caps, which take force from April 1.
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British Gas says it always intended to adjust its standard variable tariff and default tariff pricing to reflect any changes to Ofgem's price caps.
But households can save hundreds by switching now.
Richard Neudegg, head of regulation at price comparison website uSwitch.com, said: "With more suppliers expected to raise their prices to the new cap, over half the energy customers in Britain could affected.
"But they have a chance to escape being part of the grim statistics - instead they can save hundreds of pounds by switching away.
“Nine in 10 energy deals available today are cheaper than the new cap will be.
"Now is the time for energy customers to grab one of those cheap deals and find themselves up to £324 a year better off.”
How to find a cheaper energy deal
FIRSTLY, you’ll need to have a recent bill to hand. This will have all the details you need, including the name of your tariff and your recent spending on gas
- Use a comparison website: Customers can use websites such as uSwitch.com or Energyhelpline.com to compare tariffs and find a cheaper deal. You could save up to £400 a year if you’ve never switched before.
- There are other service you can turn to: MoneySavingExpert’s Cheap Energy Club will let you set up an email reminder that alerts you when cheaper deals become available.
- Things to do before you switch: Compare prices and before you switch check to see if you can get cachback from a website like Quidco or TopCashback
Stephen Murray, energy expert at comparison website MoneySuperMarket, added: “There’s a lot of noise about the energy price cap at the moment and how it’s supposedly delivering a fairer price on energy bills and protecting people from getting ripped off by suppliers.
"But with the level of the cap set to rise by £117 at the start of April, that couldn’t be further from the truth and there’s really only one way for people to bring their bills down – and that’s by switching.
“It takes five minutes to switch and you could save £250 or more today on your annual bills, simply by moving to a more competitive tariff with a Big Six or emerging supplier.”
More on energy bills
These are the cheapest tariffs you can switch to ahead of Ofgem's price cap.
Plus, here's how to get help paying your energy bills this winter – and save over £1,000.
And, here's how to get free insulation worth £1,000's.
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