British Gas Prices Increase Hikes 18% to Energy Bills

British Gas is the latest of the big 6 energy companies to add woe to already stretched household budgets with an increase in prices of up to 18%.

Last month it was Scottish Power but now increases in British Gas prices have been announced at 18% for gas and 16% for electricity. Scottish Power “only” increased their electricity prices by 10% so this is a massive blow to domestic energy bills. The increases will take effect on August 1st this year. Of course anyone on a fixed rate deal is unaffected but those on standard or discounted tariffs will see the increase in their next bills.

The other energy giants (E-ON, EDF, Southern Electricity and Npower) have yet to make their move but they all generally follow British Gas (BG) – normally BG is the first to make the move to increase or lower prices and no one followed Scottish Power’s lead last month – but the others are sure to follow.

So if you have been waiting to make a decision on whether you should switch you energy supplier then today may be the time to do it.

Check out fixed and capped deals

The problem when price rises are announced is that the existing fixed and capped deals are quickly taken off the market so if you want to see what fixed rate tariffs are on offer at the present time then it’s worth undertaking a comparison.

The above site will present all the available tariffs to you but beware that the price increases for British Gas and scottish power are not yet in effect so those may be shown as being the best tariffs but they will soon increase by the 10% – 19% from the increases mentioned above.

All you need to make an online comparison is your postcode, your current supplier together with your current tariff name and your estimated annual spend on energy or your consumption data. You’ll then be able to see if you can save any money by switching or at least just how much it’s going to cost you to fixed prices for perhaps the next 2 to 3 years.

Bear in mind that the tariffs are on the current rates and certainly if the other big 4 companies increase their rates (which is a strong possibility now that British Gas prices have increased) then the tariffs you switch onto will also increase down the line (unless they are a fixed or capped tariff).

So during the increased hikes in prices just be aware that what you will presented with may increase once the energy companies put through their increases. BG said of course it was due to the increase in the wholesale market where they say that prices rose by around 30% – commentators suggest that energy prices will continue in this manner for some time, but of course no one can predict the future.

So it’s best to check out the current tariffs and if you can avoid the increases in British Gas prices by switching to a fixed rate tariff today.