Energy provide E.On is to increase gas prices by 26 per cent and electricity prices by 16 per cent from tomorrow for its eight million customers
The E.On price hikes will see bills rise 62p a day – or by 22 per cent – for the average dual fuel energy customer.
The average household bill for a dual fuel E.On customer was £913 on January 1st 2008, £1,063 in July and will now go up to £1,297 - an increase of 42 per cent.
However, the firm maintains it offers better value than British Gas and its customers on fixed-price tariffs will not be affected.
The price hikes follow those made by British Gas and EDF and expected to be followed by the remaining three major energy firms.
Graham Bartlett, E.ON retail managing director, said: “I’m very aware of the effect that today’s announcement will have on our customers and I recognise that this is a very tough time for everyone.
“This was not an easy decision to make and we’ve tried to keep these increases as low as possible while protecting as many of our customers as we can.”
The price hikes have been blamed on a 51 per cent rise in wholesale costs since February.
E.On has also provided a boost for pre-payment meter customers with the pledge their energy bills will be charged at the same rate as standard customers.
Consumers facing rising energy bills are being advised to shop around for new deals – especially those who have never changed energy providers – and opt for direct debit payments on dual fuel deals.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: “Soaring energy bills pose a huge threat to our standard of living – gas and electricity are essential commodities which have now become a luxury that many can no longer afford.
“Consumers are going to have to adjust quickly and there are two key steps to this – making sure we pay the lowest possible price for our energy and learning to use less of it.
“I would also urge people to contact their suppliers to find out what help they can get towards making their home more energy efficient – we are all paying an extra £39 a year on our bills towards suppliers’ energy efficiency schemes so why not try to get something back?”
In February E.On raised is gas and electricity prices by 15 per cent and 9.7 per cent respectively.
German-owned E.ON was formerly known as Powergen, which was spawned out of the privatisation of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in 1990.
13 Comments
Funny how foreign energy companies charge us sky high increases in order to keep the prices low in the power company homeland.
Maggie thatcher take a look at the Britain you have created.
A small companie dependent on Germany and Russia for our energy.
I bet old Winston C is turning in his grave.
Instead of Germany taking us over in WW1 or WW2
or even Russia in the cold war
we are now beholden to foreign countries for energy which will sold off for peanuts in the 80’s
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ok, alistair darling we want a 40% windfall tax on them next budget. it is the only way they will learn. thanks maggie for nothing.
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Never mind, Gordon Brown will be increasing the old folks winter fuel allowance by 50% to compensate. Won’t he?
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why are these energy companies wasting money sending light bulbs out to all and sundry including those who are not even customers. they are wasting our money and need to be heavily taxed
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We are being fleeced, and there seems there is nobody willing to sort these greedy, profiteering companies out, where’s all the money going ? not investing in storage facilities that we hear so much about. I suspect most is going on big payouts to shareholders and big bonuses to chief executives.
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regrettably with the closure of the norway leaking gas pipe we shall be even more reliant on our invasive friendly russia. expect another one third increase by january. the fur coat will soon make a return or is this still taboo
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wasn’t winston churchill a tory
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its a scandle, we should be demonstrating at their iron bridge site now, thousands of OAPs will freeze to death this winter as a result, that’s just evil, energy should be state owned and free for all
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we should have invested in renewables & energy efficiency must earlier, its an inditment of both Labour and tory governments for many years now we have been prosperous and energy rich and not bothered to ‘fix the roof while the sun shines’ the uk housing stock though often very pretty is appauling on energy conservation, even our new builds would probably be knocked down in sweden as unfit homes, we need to all go out and spend a couple of grand on our homes on insulating, new boilers, solar hot water, radiator panels, draught proofing etc, trouble is now the booms over we are all to skint, depsite the millions of trillions of pounds of equity we all have in our houses, we dont think a few k on spend to save measures is worth while?? I am staggered why more people dont DIY insulate their loft, if you call 0800 512012 free phone they will do you a grant for half the cost of it and it pays for itself within a couple of years, come on people of GREAT britain, lets get thrifty and frugal, insulate your loft and turn your thermostat down, you could be saving money straight away
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where’s huw peach when you need him ????
I reckon we need more nuclear power to keep the prices stable, what do you say to that they huw?
Personally I dont care, I can afford it,
Ps - churchill was a liberal at one point hey, plus a tory, and an unelected peer, so i think he’s what some would call an opportunist
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winston churchill was a great tory rather on the left of the party who believed in one nation policies
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the markets not competitive enough, they need breaking up by the monopolies and mergers commission, if the eu has any powers, we should be able to buy power from europe in euros at their prices, its not right that only 5 or 6 big companies can sell you power, no wonder the price is high, best thing to do is change regularly using on line switching websites to keep the companies but ulitmiately we need government national and international to act to break up these companies and make the market work better
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There really seems no answer to this.
Energy supply has become an international sport, with certainly no winners, as far as consumers are concerned, in the UK.
Maybe this is all part of a Much larger plan to finally leave the UK totally at the mercy of foreign investment and technology.
As I time served professionally qualified Electonics, IT, and Electrical Engineer, I really despair at all this.
If I were starting over - I would get out NOW - as far away as possible - before the REAL problems start, as they surely will in this Country.
As the song goes….. “You ain’t seen nothing yet”
(apologies to Bachman Turner Overdrive)
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