Free energy makeover from British Gas
August 13, 2010 at 2:42 am
British Gas has announced that it is to spend £10 million providing 50,000 of its most vulnerable customers in the UK with an energy makeover. This will involve the company providing free energy assessments and helping customers to improve their energy efficiency, which could lead to them cutting bills by £250 a year.
The customers who will be able to benefit will include those over 70, those receiving benefits related to income or disability and others. British Gas will work with a number of charities on the initiative, including Scope, National Energy Action and the Money Advice Trust.
The managing director of British Gas, Phil Bentley, said that improving energy efficiency in the home is the “quickest way to cut our bills and lower carbon emissions”.
Included in the initiative will be a free insulation survey, expert energy-efficiency advice and information on money-saving practices. Some households will also be able to get free insulation, electricity monitors and other products to help them reduce their bills.
However, Which? pointed out that this is not a voluntary decision on the part of British Gas but is instead a requirement as part of the CERT (Carbon Emission Reduction Target) scheme, which is funded by consumer energy bills and costs about £45 per household.
But for those who are the most vulnerable it will be a useful way to help them to become more energy efficient in time for the colder (and more expensive) winter months. It will also be a great way to help the country as a whole to reduce CO2 emissions.
The offer officially comes to an end on December 31.
Lower Prices bring higher profits for British Gas
August 5, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Having cut its standard tariff gas prices by 10% for more than 7 million customers earlier in the year, British Gas’s parent company, Centrica, has still been able to see its profits rise by 98% to £585 million.
Had British Gas not been successful in gaining 223,000 new customers, mainly due to its market-leading price cut, Centrica claims that profits would not have risen so sharply. Whilst this is partially true, British Gas was also able to cash in on the unusual cold snap during winter, further boosting its profits.
Despite having seen profits rise so sharply, British Gas have refused to rule out the possibility of future price hikes, this news coming despite the fact that part of British Gas’s own success was based on lowering its prices.
Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive of Centrica, refused to comment on any definite future pricing, but did say: “With taxes and VAT going up and public sector employment under threat, we will do what we can to either reduce prices or delay price rises as long as we can because it is in our interests to do so.”
With a rise in wholesale gas prices expected, it appears once again that consumers will be the ones who lose out, as energy companies like British Gas look likely to pass on the extra charge to their customers.
Whilst British Gas haven’t officially confirmed that they will be raising their prices, their current refusal to deny they will be doing so will have led to worry amongst customers who already face high prices to heat their homes.
