Provider Warns of Energy Bill Rises

Customer gas and electricity prices are likely to be raised again soon, Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) has indicated.

According to the provider, one of the UK's "big six" firms who, between them, retain around 96 percent of the market, high wholesale costs will necessitate the change. The comments chime with a recent report from the owners of British Gas, Centrica, which suggested that bills will continue to rise into the next decade.

In the statement, the provider warned customers that recent wholesale price rises - which have seen barrels of crude oil hit an all-time record of $147 - have "still to be felt" by customers. However, the firm counselled that it was likely to "wait a bit" before imposing the cuts, in case the wholesale costs retreated.

"I can't see [that the rises] won't happen before winter," SSE chief executive Ian Marchant added.

Elsewhere in its comments, SSE also revealed that annual profits at the firm were likely to be "substantially lower" over the six months to September 2008, and that its overall consumer base was likely to grow to cover nine million people.

Over the New Year, all six energy providers hiked their general tariffs by an average of 15 percent, bringing the average UK energy bill close to £1,000.