British Gas, UK’s biggest supplier of energy announced it was pushing up prices by a further £44 a year on average.
Parent Company, Centrica, blamed the hike on a 20% rise in the cost of buying wholesale gas.
Customers on the company’s standard variable tariff will see their bills rise by 3.8%, taking the average bill for duel fuel customers to £1205.
Its 2.4 million customers on fixed-price contracts will be unaffected by this price increase.
Mark Hodges, chief executive of Centrica Consumer said: “We have today reluctantly announced plans for an increase in our Standard Variable Tariff (SVT). We understand that any price increase adds extra pressure on customers’ household bills. However, this reflects the sharp rise in wholesale energy costs.
British Gas is the third of the ‘big six’ energy suppliers to announce two price rises this year, following in the footsteps of E.ON and EDF Energy.
