British Gas warn that utility bills could be on the way up

Utility bills could be on the way up, British Gas warned today despite almost doubling profits in the first half of the year.

Nick Luff, the finance director of parent company Centrica, said that energy costs for this winter and next year have risen significantly.

This statement was made on the back of an announcement that British Gas made pre-tax profits of £585m in the first six months of the year, which is up 98% on the same period last year. This was in part down to increased demand as a result of the coldest winter for 30 years and in part due to an increase in customer numbers.

But Nick Luff warned that such huge profits were unlikely to continue into the second half of this year due to an increase in energy costs – hence the aforementioned comment.

The headlines are assuming that any increase in energy costs will be passed directly onto the consumer and not absorbed by the utility company. If past history is to go by then they are right. Energy companies readily increase bills when energy prices soar but are reticent to decrease them when energy prices tumble. It pays to vigilant when it comes to how much you pay for your energy bills so read my post Lunchtime Money Makeover – Top 6 ways to reduce your energy bills.

Talking of ‘tumble’ – hands up if you woke this morning to find that your tumble-dryer had been running all night because of a fault. I might as well have spent the night setting fire to £5 motes. Arrrrrgggh!!