British Gas price hike: 3 ways to fight back

The UK energy giant is hiking prices for 3.1 million customers in September. Here’s how to get your own back.

British Gas is set to increase the cost of electricity on its standard variable tariff by a whopping 12.5% from 15 September.

The change will see a typical household on a dual fuel tariff paying £76 a year more for their energy, taking the average bill to £1,120.

It estimates that around 3.1 million customers will be impacted by the latest hike.

The ‘big six’ energy firm blamed the hike on the increased costs of supplying electricity and defended the move, claiming it had shielded customers from rises since November 2013, but could no longer offset the cost.

If you’re fed up with British Gas here are three ways to get your own back.

1. Ditch and switch

The British Gas standard tariff currently costs an average of £1,044 a year, but after the hike it will mean a typical household will pay £1,120 a year.

If you’re one of the 3.1 million people that will be impacted by the price hike you could save hundreds by switching to a cheaper deal.

Below are the best tariffs on the market right now, but to get a better picture of how much you can save you should use the loveMONEY energy comparison centre to get a more tailored quote.

*Based on usage of 3,100kWh of electric per year and 12,500kWh of gas per year and payment by Direct Debit

As you can see, the best dual fuel tariff deal costs £834 a year, £210 less than what British Gas is charging customers on its standard tariff right now and £286 less compared to the cost from 15 September.

Compare gas and electricity tariffs

2. Invest in British Gas shares

Centrica, the owner of British Gas, didn’t just announce a price hike today, it also revealed its half year results.

It said pofits were down thanks to reduced energy demand brought about by the warm weather and increased competition, but Iain Conn Centrica’s Group Chief Executive said the firm was still on track to achieve its 2017 targets.

He commented: “We have made further significant strategic progress, continuing to reallocate resources away from our asset businesses towards our customer-facing businesses.

“With the announced asset disposals and the creation of a new European E&P joint venture, we expect the first phase of our portfolio transformation to be complete by the end of 2017, leaving the Group well-positioned to deliver longer-term returns and growth.”

Shares rose 2.6% on the news.

So, if you can’t beat British Gas you might want to consider joining the firm and profiting from its ongoing success.

Visit the loveMONEY investment centre (capital at risk)

3. Get British Gas to pay you

Finally, you could get British Gas to pay you using the Government’s Feed-in-Tariff.

Homes that have solar panels, wind, hydro and other types of systems set up to produce renewable electricity can get paid money by firms like British Gas to generate and export energy.

You can check out how much you can earn here.

Compare gas and electricity tariffs

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