Energy Companies Now Accused of Adding Millions to Household Bills

Reports now show that gas and electric companies have been raising their prices. This brings the average family’s energy spending up to £1,250. British householders are facing half a billion pounds’ worth of higher energy bills. However, the bad news is that homeowners could still be facing further increases as the price of crude oil jumped toward $100 a barrel on global markets.

Domestic power price increases have already been made by British Gas. Other companies have followed suit as well. This leaves customers paying 37 percent more for their gas and electricity than they were in 2008, according to uSwitch, which is a price comparison service.

The rising price of oil is also pushing the price of petrol to record levels. It is putting a lot of pressure on the government as well, who increased fuel duties and VAT as the new year started. Overall, these rising prices have put a lot of pressure on economies around the world.

Right now uSwitch claims that homeowners are each paying about £338 more for their gas and electricity than they were in 2008 (this is the same a 37 percent increase). Of course, there are still big differences in the tariffs offered by the six companies that dominate the marketplace.

Ann Robinson, the director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said that this increase has hit 24.6 million customers. It has added more than £560 million onto consumer energy bills as a whole. It is a painful reminder that, while households are attempting to keep the cost of their energy bills down, often they find their bills increasing due to no fault of their own.