Is it fair then? Can it be justified? The chief executive stated that this is a business which has got about a million of shareholders, a lot of pension funds and investors and thus their investments have to be taken care of.
Well, but how about the 6 million people who will be classified as in fuel poverty? Not sure if this could be justified.

On the other side of the coin, Centrica wanted to point out that they were the first energy company which dropped their prices last year when wholesale prices were falling.
However, now, British Gas will be charging on average a household the most, about £1240 a year for electricity and gas, while the other 4 players, excluding EDF, will still keep their prices under £1000 pounds.

So the question is, how long will it take before the next energy rival will announce rises in gas prices?

The announcement from British Gas came today on 30th July, exactly five days after EDF officially put up its gas prices by 22 %. It is claimed by British Gas that average wholesale prices have gone up too much and the rise is now to be introduced to customers with an immediate effect. This takes away extra £268.80 a year from an average dual fuel customer’s bill. It is just 72p a day! Well, the true is that the average dual fuel price will go up by 25% according to British Gas.
Nevertheless, British Gas also stated that its profit went down by 69% in the first half of this year and thus the rises have to be introduced.

Unfortunately, the UK’s gas reserves are diminishing, the UK is now importing 40% of gas, compared to the last year when the figure stood at 27%. Given the political situation and the role of Russia and Ukraine in supplying gas into the rest of Europe, it is not looking good…

The rise in the prices for gas should be up by 22 % and the rise in the prices of electricity by 17% with an immediate impact on clients. Despite the fact that oil prices have gone down in the last several days, which have historically been closely linked to the price of gas, the gas prices are still going up. The reason being is that since the beginning of 2008, the costs of energy have gone up drastically almost by 70%. But what will happen next, is this the last rise? No, it is not at all.

According to the suppliers, customers could even expect another rise during the forthcoming winter unless energy prices drop dramatically. This rise could be between 15% to 20%. Let’s see what will happen with the rest of the providers of energy whether they will follow soon. But it is claimed that if a family spends more than 10% of its income on energy bills, they can proclaim themselves to be in fuel poverty. The biggest UK supplier of energy British Gas stated that in the future it will not be abnormal that an average household will spend extra £1000 each year on energy bills. How frightening is that!

The aim is to reduce energy consumption that will result in the reduction of energy bill by following some simple guidelines as listed below:

Avoid using electric heaters that consume an inordinate amount of energy. Switch off TVs, computers, or CD players that are left ’ON’ when not in use. It is observed that such equipments are left ’ON’ thought out the year in student’s homes.

Another energy saving tip is switching ‘OFF’ mobile phone chargers as soon as the mobile phone battery has recovered.

Purchase energy efficient light bulbs that will enable long usage with out failure as well as contribute towards energy saving.
One cane even use only the light form a mobile phone for going to bathrooms in the night….!

Those living in private houses should ensure that the rent for the house includes the energy bill. There are prepayment meters installed in such rented houses enabling the tenant to pay for their own energy bills.

By following such simple guidelines the student can save even over L200.

However according to Ofgem still there are electricity customers (about 53% of the total population) who remain loyal to their old suppliers. It is now an established fact that those who move away from the old supplier for the first time are the biggest gainer.

According to reports, those customers who remain loyal to old electricity supplier are now paying at least 10% extra during the year. In their traditional areas, the old customers are charged L32 more a year by such companies. However, due to competition, the same companies offer lower tariffs to new customers outside “home” areas.

According to Ann Robinson of Uswitch almost all companies, in 10 out of 14 electricity regions, are charging cheaper than the former monopoly supplier. The long standing customers are treated as cash cows, by asking them to subscribe more than the competitive prices that are being offered to new customers in other regions.

The Government has already advised customers to switch suppliers. Now it is for the customers to act and avail the benefits.