The near 10% price rise announced today by British Gas will come as a nasty shock to their millions of customers. How it can be justified is a question that will be much-debated in the coming weeks and months, as the other major suppliers of gas and electricity also increase their prices.
With wages rising at little more than 1% and general inflation at around 2.7%, a 10% increase in energy bills is unwelcome. British Gas, and no doubt all of the other major companies, will claim that much of the rise is out of their control as it's a consequence of the wholesale cost of gas, increased transport costs for both gas and electricity and the effective surcharges demanded by Government for the introduction of 'smart meters', better insulation and 'green' energy schemes.
Whatever the truth, many people will be looking for ways to make savings. 'Shopping around' is one avenue, but it's always best to wait until all of the companies have announced their latest price rises before acting; otherwise, one may easily go from bad to worse. Secondly, ensuring your property is well insulated can be a huge saver as can the installation of a modern boiler; double glazing and loft insulation added to changing boiler can easily cut hundreds of pounds from an average bill. Don't leave electrical appliances on standby or even plugged in; if your washing machine is programmable, run it overnight on a lower tariff plan and do the same for any tumble drying. Switch lights off when they're not needed and be prepared to wear thicker clothing rather than sit in shirtsleeves in a sweltering house.
There must be many more ways of keeping costs down and we all need to use them because, whatever Miliband minor says, prices are going only way and that's up, not down.
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