GAS FIRM TO POST £880M PROFIT

British Gas parent company Centrica is expected to post half-year profits of about £880 million as millions of its customers reel from a record hike in gas bills.

The UK's biggest domestic energy supplier, which has 15.9 million customers, has been forced to pass on soaring wholesale gas prices after first raising bills in January.

On Wednesday, the group upped gas bills by a mammoth 35%, with electricity prices up 9%. This takes annual dual fuel payments to £1,317 - £404 above the beginning of the year.

In the first half of last year, British Gas racked up £533 million in profits after delays in passing on lower gas prices, although this bumper haul has fallen by 69% to £166 million amid record wholesale prices.

Across the group as a whole, operating profits are expected to fall to about £880 million compared with last year's £1.24 billion.

The lower profits from British Gas will be partially offset by a better return from the group's upstream production business - which gained from the higher prices - but is also likely to face a bigger tax bill as a result.

French-owned EDF Energy became the first major energy company to lift prices last Friday - 17% for electricity and 22% for gas - blaming record oil prices for the move.

And other rivals among the UK's "big six" are sure to follow EDF and Centrica after Scottish & Southern Energy last week said it was becoming "more difficult by the day" to resist hitting customers with higher bills. continues here

GAS BILLS TO SOAR BY £228

Families were last night reeling from a devastating 35 per cent rise in gas bills – the biggest ever.

It is the second time that British Gas has raised prices in less than seven months.

Critics condemned the move for coming at a time when millions of households are already struggling to cope with spiralling fuel bills.

British Gas justified the rises by blaming soaring wholesale costs, which have sent its profits into a nosedive. But the firm’s parent company, Centrica, is still expected to today announce half-year profits of nearly £1billion across its whole business.

The firm’s latest rises – nine per cent for electricity and the 35 per cent for gas – took effect yesterday.

For gas-only customers, it will add £228 to their annual bill. For those on dual tariffs, the annual bill will rise by £261.

The increases follow a 15 per cent rise for both fuels in mid-January. British Gas customers on dual tariffs have now suffered a £404 annual increase since the start of the year.

The industry watchdog confirmed that the gas price increase was the biggest ever single rise in energy bills.  

The director of campaigns for Energywatch, Adam Scorer, said: “It is a record. It means that if you are getting just your gas from British Gas it is putting up your bill more than 50 per cent in a single year. That amounts to an assault.” 

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said the Government was “deeply concerned” about the effects on families and vulnerable people. Winter fuel payments to over-60s and over-80s this year will include an extra £50 and £100 respectively to reflect the higher costs. 

He added: “The UK is not alone in having to pay more for its energy – high oil prices are being felt across the globe.” 

But Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the increases would devastate many families. 

“The announcement may have been made in a hot spell in July, but when winter comes thousands will be forced to choose between heating their homes and cooking their meals,” he warned. 

Shadow Energy Minister Charles Hendry said: “Britain is being hit especially hard, as the Government has utterly failed to prepare for rising fuel prices during the years of relatively low bills.” continues here