Energy firms ‘shift responsibility’ for high prices

Energy suppliers must be transparent about the cause of high energy bills, Citizens Advice has warned. As Centrica and EDF announce their half-year interim results, consumers will struggle to understand why energy firms continue to charge high prices despite their costs falling.

Citizens Advice Chief Executive Gillian Guy said:

"Suppliers keep shifting the responsibility for what's causing high prices. Complaints about large wholesale costs and green levies no longer stand, and with Ofgem announcing just yesterday that electricity network costs are due to come down by £12 energy firms are running out of excuses for rising prices.

"Despite the mild winter depressing the demand for energy British Gas' profit margins remain very healthy and EDF has reported a rise in profits in the UK. Consumers will struggle to understand why the prices they pay remain high when the biggest chunk of costs that suppliers face continue to fall.  It only goes to reinforce why the Competition and Market Authority’s inquiry is so important in order to establish if people are paying a fair price to heat and light their homes.

"A commitment by suppliers not to raise prices in 2014 will be reassuring for customers but they need to be passing on savings from the drop in wholesale costs so customers actually have lower bills."

Notes to editors:

1. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
3. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at adviceguide.org.uk
4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers
5. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.3 million clients on 5.4 million problems from October 2013 to September 2014. For full 2013/2014  service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
6. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.