British Gas rise prices AGAIN!!!

Credit4everyone has learned that British Gas have increased prices again! Gas prices will increase by a record 35% and electricity by 9%. Despite the rise, British Gas has re-assured everyone that it will not increase prices again in 2008 (how nice of them I’m sure).

The prices have increased with immediate effect. You could save money by Switching, click here to see if you can save money

EDF increase prices

  5.5million customers will see an increase in the cost of it’s Gas and Electrcity after EDF announced it was increasing it’s fuel prices. Gas prices will increase by 22%, whilst Electricity will increase by 17% for domestic customers.

The firm has blamed the increase, which comes into effect on 25 July, on record wholesale energy costs.

Energy companies have been widely expected to raise the costs of utility bills this summer, as wholesale prices have been rising.

EDF is the first of the major suppliers to raise prices this summer and others are expected to follow suit.

The company said it had been absorbing higher costs in recent months but it now needed to pass on costs to domestic and small business customers.

It is the second rise for EDF customers this year.

To compare prices and see if you can get a better deal click here.

 

scottish and southern increase prices

The last of the major energy suppliers followed suit by increasing it’s Gas and Electricity prices. The price rise will come into force on April 1st 2008. Scottish and Southern are the last major supplier to announce an increase, blaiming an increase in wholesale price for the rise.

Gas prices will rise by approx £85 per year and electricity by approx £50 according to Uswitch. A dual fuel bill will increase by approx £131 per year.

Scottish and Southern follow NPower, EDF Energy, British Gas, EON and Scottish power who have all increased the price of it’s gas and electricity.

Since the start of the year, Npower has put prices up for its electricity customers by 12.7% and gas prices rose by 17.2%. EDF put up electricity tariffs by 7.9% and gas prices by 12.9%.

British Gas increased gas and electricity prices by 15%. Scottish Power increased gas bills by 15% and electricity bills by 14%, and E.On put up gas bills by 15% and electricity tariffs by 9.7%.

rising energy costs

With the rising energy prices a recent poll on moneysupermarket.com revealed that the majority of consumers believe they are paying too much for their gas and electricity and that recent price increases are totally unjustified. Five of the big six energy firms - British Gas, EDF Energy, Eon, Npower and Scottish Power - have increased their gas and electricity prices by an average of 15% since the beginning of the year. The typical household now pays more than £1,000 a year for energy - up from around £650 three years ago.
What should consumers?
The message is simple - move to the best deal you can. Despite the recent price increases, there are still significant savings to be made.Six out of 10 households have never changed their energy provider and are still on the standard tariff paying quarterly by cash or cheque. By switching to an online tariff and opting to pay monthly by direct debit, the average household could save up to £260 a year. Which provider works out to be the cheapest, will depend on your consumption and whereabouts in the country you live. A gas and electricity comparison tool should identify the cheapest deal in your area - but here is an indication of how the providers compare:

Provider	Average standard tariff*	Average online tariff**	Saving
British Gas	£1,055	£878	£177
EDF Energy	£1,007	n/a	n/a
Eon	£1,063	£769	£294
Npower	£1,056	£795	£261
Scottish Power	£1,100	£944	£156
SSE	£890	£804	£86

*Payment by quarterly bill.
**Payment by monthly direct debit.
Source: www,moneysupermarket.com March 4 2008 There are a few things to bear in mind when comparing deals at the moment. Remember that SSE has yet to increase its prices, so if you opt for one of its deals, your bills may rise in the next few months. Also, while Eon and Npower have recently hiked the cost of their standard tariffs, the costs of their online deals have not changed, so they too may go up in the near future.Nevertheless, this shouldn’t put you off shopping around. None of the leading providers issue 12month contracts so you can easily move again should your rate rise sharply.
Top Tips From Moneysupermarket.com

 

fixed rate gas bills

Discounted Energy
• Save Money
3% cheaper than ScottishPower’s standard monthly Direct Debit prices for gas and electricity* NB: At launch, this equates to an average saving of £25 per annum on Dual Fuel**
• Guarantee Period
Your prices will remain 3% below ScottishPower’s standard monthly Direct Debit prices until July 2009.
• Convenience
Customers who take gas and electricity from us will receive one combined bill and our Gas & Electricity Offer discount of up to £16.80 per annum (inc. VAT).
• Online Option
Save an additional £15.75 per annum (inc VAT) for Dual Fuel customers by choosing to manage your energy account online or £10.50 per annum (inc VAT) for Electricity Solus customers.
Fixed Price
• No PRICE RISES until March 2011

Your customers can look forward with added confidence to the security of fixed prices until 28th February 2011 with our Fixed Price Energy Offer. Convenience - Customers who take gas and electricity from ScottishPower will receive one combined bill and our Gas & Electricity Offer discount of up to £16.80* per annum (incl. VAT).
*The gas and electricity offer annual discount of £16.80 inc VAT is available in ScottishPower and Manweb former host public electricity supply areas for dual fuel customers paying monthly by direct debit. All other customers who qualify for the discount will receive an annual discount of £10.50 inc VAT
Online Option
Save an additional £15.75 per annum (inc VAT) for Dual Fuel customers by choosing to manage your energy account online or £10.50 per annum (inc VAT) for electricity Solus customers.
* Based on the kWh rate comparison between ScottishPower’s standard monthly Direct Debit prices and ScottishPower’s Discounted Energy Offer. **** Saving shown based on comparison between ScottishPower’s Standard average domestic Dual Fuel bill and ScottishPower’s Discounted Energy Offer Dual Fuel bill for a customer supplied on Standard Rate electricity using 3,300kWh and 20,500kWh of mains gas each year who pays monthly by Direct Debit. Based on an average Dual Fuel bill across.

childminder annual fee hike

Some childminders could be put out of business by a hike in their annual fees, according to the National Childminding Association.
The annual fee needed to register to look after children aged five to seven is due to go up from £15 to £103.

But campaigners claim the increase this year will damage childminders’ finances and be the final straw for some.

A three-month consultation period by the government on pushing up the price ends next week.

british gas price rise

On January 18th 2008, British Gas was the next Utility supplier to increase prices. You can save money by making sure you are on the correct price plan/utility supplier. To do this, you should you a Compare service.

Uswitch can save you time and money - click here

Money Super Market - click here to compare utility bills

• British Gas prices going up by 15% or £85 for gas and 15% or £54 for electricity
• Average household bill for a dual fuel British Gas customer will go up from £912 to £1,051 - only £64 cheaper than when prices were at an all time high
• Gas customers will suffer most, as British Gas will now be the most expensive supplier for gas - gas bills will go up from £568 to £653 a year
• Increases are on standard tariffs - over half its 16 million customer accounts will be affected
• British Gas reported record half year profits of £533 million, but Citigroup predicts that year end profits will hit almost £639 million - more than six times the £95 million it made in 2006
• Average British Gas dual fuel bill rocketed by 85% or £513 (2004 - 2006) but only fell by 19% or £208 last year.

EDF increase gas and electricity

EDF have announced Electricity prices will rise by 7.9% and Gas by 12.9% this week. The firm blaim the increase on “Soaring Wholesale Prices” and increased enviromental obligations.

 The company said that it’s 5.5 million customers would see an increase of around £2 a week for the typical dual fuel bill.

 The company however has promised mitigate the effect of rising costs through energy efficiency advice. At the time EDF increased Gas and Electricity bills it was always rumoured others would follow. Consumers have been warned to expect more price rises.

HMV shares rise

Shares in HMV rose by as much as 17% after it announced it had a “really cracking Christmas” period.

 Unlike some retailers who have seen shares decrease, the music and book firm said sales in the UK rose as much as 14.1% whilst sales at its Waterstone’s books chain increased by 4%.

 HMV now expected full year profits to be at the top of forecasts.

Npower increase gas and electricity prices

  Energy firm Npower has announced double-digit rises in the price its domestic customers will have to pay for gas and electricity - with industry observers saying that other companies are likely to follow suit. So is now the time to reconsider who provides your energy?

Chancellor Alistair Darling asks to meet the energy regulator Ofgem to discuss gas and electricity price rises. 

In a letter to Ofgem, Mr Darling said he wanted to review the reasons behind the price rises and their implications.

Npower, which has increased average gas prices by 17.2% and electricity by 12.7%, expects rivals to follow suit.

The company, the UK’s fourth-largest energy supplier, blamed the price rises on soaring wholesale costs.

Record oil costs

Wholesale energy prices have risen by 66% for electricity and 60% for gas since last year, said Npower, which has four million UK customers.