British Gas urged to freeze prices after record profits
01/08/2013
Consumer groups have urged energy supplier, British Gas, to consider scrapping any proposed price increase planned this year, after the company reported record profits on the back of a cold winter.
Centrica, the company which own British Gas, made £1.56bn in the first six months of the year throughout its entire power generation and supply business, a 9pc year-on-year compared to 2012. British Gas was responsible for £3.56m of this profit, a rise of 3pc year-on-year.
Earlier in the year British gas publicly promised that it would use the extra profit made from a record-breaking cold snap last winter to hold off price increases for longer.
However Centrica’s chief financial officer, Nick Luff, has failed to guarantee the company won’t increase prices again this winter. He said: “What I can do is assure you that we will keep our prices as low as we can. It is in our interest to have competitive prices, we want to attract new customers, and if prices do have to go up we will delay that for as long as possible”.
While British Gas blames the tough market conditions and the wholesale price of gas increasing, this will be little comfort for those who suffered last winter. Tom Lyon at uSwitch.com, said: “Profits are up from last year so we would urge British Gas to help quell customers fears and go one step further than its May pledge and commit to a price freeze for the rest of the year.
“People are already starting to worry about next year and the cost of their energy bills and high energy prices have a big impact on consumers”, he continued.
Last winter almost 7 in 10 households went without heating at some point to keep costs down.
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