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British Gas has confirmed it is raising prices on its standard variable tariff (SVT) by almost £100 to bring it in line with the price cap, the first supplier to do so.
The large energy retailer will increase its bills by an average of £97 and other major suppliers are likely to follow suit.
A rise in wholesale costs resulted in Ofgem announcing a £96 increase earlier this month, meaning the default tariff cap will stand at £1,138 from 1 April.
Around 11 million customers across the UK will be affected by the increase, while 4 million on pre-payment meters (PPM) will see their cap increase by £87 to £1,156.
Additionally, the latest default cap allows suppliers to claim £23 to cover higher levels of bad debt from more customers being unable to pay their energy bills due to the impact of Covid.
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “Ofgem’s announcement of an increase to the energy price cap has fired the starting gun on a race to hike bills.
“British Gas is first out of the gate to announce a price rise, confirming that default tariff customers will see bills increase by an average of £97 from 1 April.
“We expect to see more of these announcements in the coming days and weeks, but there’s no reason why you have to wait helplessly for your bills to soar.
“These bill rises will come into effect on 1 April, but there are plenty of fixed deals available now that can protect you right now from market volatility.”
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