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British Gas owner, Centrica, has announced that both its gas and electricity prices are going up by 15% with immediate effect. British Gas becomes the third major energy supplier to raise prices this year, after EDF, which upped rates by at least 8% earlier this week, and npower, which increased prices by up to 17%, 2 weeks ago. The increase affects 13 million customers, although another 2.4 million bill-payers on fixed-term tariffs won't see any increase at this time. A further 340,000 people using the company's social tariff, 'Essentials', won't be impacted until the Spring. The company says that since it reduced its retail gas prices by 20% in the spring of 2007, wholesale energy prices have risen sharply - the forward gas price for 2008 having increased by 51%, electricity by 61%. It adds that the price charged to transport and distribute energy will rise by 7% in 2008. It also notes that the Government's targets for renewable electricity generation and carbon emissions reduction now make up £264 each year of an average household energy bill.
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