Phil Bentley, the managing director of British Gas, said the gas and electricity prices will rise for years to come because of green taxes and cost of upgrading the National Grid.
Between £80 billion and £100 billion of investment is needed to upgrade the National Grid and other power networks in the UK over the next decade, meaning higher bills for millions of householders.
Meanwhile the cost of green energy tariffs and taxes could also add around £140 to the average household bill over the next eight years. While he did not put a figure on what the total rise will be, the increase could be several hundred pounds.
Mr Bentley said: “People will have to pay more per unit [over the next 10 years] and they are therefore going to have to be more diligent in saving energy."
He called for a “sensible debate” about people’s financial priorities.“How many people are saying to Vodafone ‘I want a discounted tariff because I can’t afford a mobile phone’? That’s what we [offer].
“People will pay their Sky bill before their energy bill… There has got to be a sensible debate about it,” he said.
Last year, the average dual fuel British Gas bill was £1,024.
Mr Bentley said that investment in nuclear energy could push bills up further, while Government plans to simplify household tariffs could have the “unintended consequences” of removing cheap deals from the market.
His warnings come after British Gas raised its prices by 17 per cent last year, leading to accusations of profiteering at a time when household budgets are under pressure.
However Mr Bentley said that the company has profit margins of just 5 per cent and added that people needed to re-assess what is important.
Mr Bentley said that he would welcome a Competition Commission inquiry into household energy prices if it “cleared the air” and took no longer than three months.
02/03/2012 - TheTelegraph.co.uk
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