British Gas yesterday increased the pressure on household budgets after announcing the biggest ever increase in gas prices for its 16 million customers. The 35% rise in gas bills was blamed on higher wholesale costs but came just hours before British Gas’s parent company, Centrica, was due to reveal profits of £880m for the first half of the year. Consumer groups reacted with anger to news that will dismay every gas-using household in the country. The move is expected to send another 1 million families into fuel poverty if replicated across the industry. EDF Energy, one of the other five major suppliers, announced a 22% rise in gas prices last week. Adam Scorer, of the consumer group Energywatch, said he was surprised by the increase. “I’m not sure that many consumers will be able to fully take in the news that their gas bills are going up by over a third,” he said. More
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