More huge energy price hikes announced
Two of Britain's largest energy suppliers increased their household power and gas prices on Thursday, leaving just two big utilities resisting pressure to hike prices for the second time this year.
M&S strikes deal to expand in eastern EuropeGerman-owned E.ON UK increased its residential gas prices by 26 percent and its power prices by 16 percent from Friday, followed shortly after by Scottish and Southern Energy's 29.2 percent gas and 19.2 percent power hikes, effective Monday.
After EDF Energy and British Gas announced big bill increases last month in response to soaring wholesale costs and surging oil prices in the first half of 2009, only RWE npower and Scottish Power have yet to increase their retail prices for the second time this year.
"Global demand for all types of energy has risen steeply and supplies of finite resources like oil and gas are under intense pressure," Alistair Phillips-Davies, Energy Supply Director of SSE said, warning that soaring global energy prices over the last year could force further increases.
"The world is experiencing an energy shock of a kind not seen since the early 1970s, but which is likely to have more profound and lasting consequences ... This is what lies behind much of the dramatic increase in wholesale energy prices we have experienced."
Like French supplier EDF and British Gas owner Centrica before them, both companies blamed wholesale energy price increases of over 50 percent since February for the latest hikes, but insisted the increases were inevitable because of Britain's growing reliance on imported fuels.
"I recognise that this is a very tough time for everyone," Graham Bartlett, managing director of E.ON's retail business, said.
"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."
RELIEF AHEAD?
After rising for about a year on the back of soaring oil prices, wholesale gas prices tumbled in Britain from mid July to early August as oil slid from around $145 a barrel to just over $111 CLc1 at the end of last week, raising hopes household bills might not swell yet again early next year.
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