EDF expected to spark new round of energy price rises:
Another round of gas and electricity price rises across Britain looked likely as an energy supplier announced increases yesterday. EDF Energy, which owns London Energy, Seeboard and Sweb, is putting its prices for gas and electricity up by 19 per cent and 8 per cent respectively from the end of this month. The increases will affect 1.3 million gas and 3.5 million electricity customers. The company put up prices as recently as March, when its electricity went up 4.7 per cent and its gas 14.6 per cent. EDF, a French group, is blaming high wholesale energy prices for this latest round of increases.Consumer groups said that they expected other major power generators to follow EDF's lead. Powergen, npower and British Gas are all predicted to announce big increases, probably around the 15 per cent mark, in the coming weeks. ScottishPower led the last round of price rises this month when it announced its second set of increases for 2006. It put up gas by 17 per cent and electricity by 10 per cent. Only Scottish & Southern Energy is unlikely to increase prices again this year as it has pledged to hold current levels until 2007. Joe Malinowski, founder of TheEnergyShop, a price-comparison website, said: “I absolutely think the others are going to follow EDF. Wholesale prices are not coming down so companies will have no choice but to make increases.” According to Energywatch, the consumer watchdog, the average EDF customer is now paying £642 a year for gas and £357 for electricity. Three years ago they were paying £324 for gas and £240 for electricity increases of 92 per cent and 54 per cent respectively. 26.7.06