British Gas, owned by Centrica PLC (LON:CNA) has announced it will increase the price of its Standard Variable Tariff (SVT) by £60 to £1,161 a year on May 29.
The hike, which applies to both electricity and gas, will mean bills for a typical dual fuel domestic customer on the SVT will rise by an average of 5.5% a year.
READ: British Gas owner Centrica to ditch standard variable tariffs as it looks to ‘reform UK energy market’
British Gas said the price increase is largely due to rising wholesale gas, electricity and policy costs and will impact 4.1mln SVT customers.
However, the firm said, 3.7mln customers on fixed-term contracts, prepayment meters and vulnerable customers will be unaffected by the price increase.
British Gas said its SVT default tariff was withdrawn for new customers on March 31, with all existing customers being encouraged to choose one of the firm’s fixed-term deals.
Customers who do not make an active choice when their existing fixed-term tariff ends will move onto a 12-month fixed term default tariff, which will also increase by £60 to £1,136 a year on May 29.
Mark Hodges, chief executive of Centrica Consumer, said the price increase was beyond the firm’s control: “We fully understand that any price increase adds extra pressure on customers’ household bills.”
He added: “We believe Government should level the playing field so the customers of all suppliers pay a fair share of energy policy costs.”