The supplier’s parent company, Centrica, blamed government policies and energy network costs for the 12.5 per cent rise DARREN STAPLES/REUTERSBritish Gas will raise electricity prices for more than 3 million households, adding £76 to a typical annual energy bill. Britain’s biggest supplier blamed government policies and energy network costs for the 12.5 per cent increase, and admitted that wholesale prices had actually fallen since it last raised prices in late 2013. The price rise was announced as Centrica, British Gas’s owner, reported a 26 per cent drop in profits at its household supply business, to £381 million for the first six months of this year. It said this reflected customers leaving the company, the remaining customers using less energy in warmer weather, and the impact of a cap by the regulator on the prices it could charge households with pre-payment meters. British Gas lost…

Source: The Times August 01, 2017 08:03 UTC