EDF to raise power and gas prices from Friday
EDF Energy is to increase its electricity prices by 7.9 percent and gas prices by 12.9 percent from Friday because of rising wholesale energy costs, the company said on Tuesday.
"We regret any decision to raise our prices," Eva Eisenschimmel, EDF Energy Chief Operating Officer Customers Branch, said in a statement.
"Despite soaring wholesale energy prices, higher distribution costs and increased environmental obligations, we have been able to substantially limit the impact on our customers."
The UK arm of French energy giant EDF is the first big supplier to raise prices after German company RWE's British unit npower announced an average 12.7 percent hike in power and a 17.2 percent jump in gas prices for its retail customers on January 5.
Both companies have blamed steep rises in wholesale prices for the bigger household bills.
Spokesmen for Britain's biggest supplier Centrica, which owns British Gas, and E.ON UK said they would continue to monitor the market and would not say whether or when they might put up prices.
Npower cited a 66 percent rise since mid February 2007 in wholesale electricity prices for this year and a 60 percent wholesale price rise for gas, adding it expected other suppliers to raise prices soon.
EDF said the price rises would add just over 1.92 pounds a week to the bill of a typical dual fuel customer.
Some 55,000 of EDF Energy's "most in need" customers will continue to get a 15 percent discount on its standard tariff, the company said.
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