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British Gas raises tariffs for the second time leaving 3.5 million vulnerable

BRITISH GAS is “ripping off customers” by raising the cost of its tariff for the second time this year, Labour said today.

The increase in the standard variable tariff (SVT) means the average bill for existing dual fuel households will rise by 3.8 per cent up to £1,205, affecting 3.5 million customers.

The energy supplier announced in April that it was increasing its prices by an average 5.5 per cent from the following month for both its SVT and its new temporary tariff fixed-rate deal.

Labour’s shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long Bailey said energy firms have “gone way too far in ripping off their customers.”

She added: “If it wasn’t for the government’s delay in implementing their promised energy price cap, customers would have been protected from this rise.

“Now, the cap will not be coming into force until later this year and energy companies are hiking their tariffs before it does.

“The next Labour government will tackle our broken energy market and bring parts of the energy system back into public ownership so it works in the interests of the people and not rich shareholders.”

The rise was announced the day after energy regulator Ofgem raised its price cap on variable tariffs due to increasing wholesale prices for oil.

Ofgem said its safeguard tariff, which protects five million households from overcharging, will rise by £47 per year in October to £1,136.

It follows a series of price increases from the energy companies in recent weeks, affecting millions of households. E.ON, SSE, Npower, EDF, ScottishPower and Bulb have all raised their prices, blaming wholesale energy costs.

Peter Smith, director of policy and research at fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, described Ofgem’s decision as “disappointing.”

He said: “While this decision may reflect the underlying costs of supplying energy, these sharp rises will badly affect vulnerable people who most struggle to afford this essential service.

“Although the true impacts are unlikely to be truly felt until the warm weather is over, it is bound to cause immediate stress and anguish to the people that most need safeguarding from higher bills."

Consumer watchdog Which? has estimated that customers who do not switch to better deals could end up overpaying by as much as £400 a year.

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