UK: Advent of the

MILLIONS OF households could be hit by 15% price hikes in their energy bills next year, which could lead to the return of average bills in excess of


British Gas, the UK’s biggest energy supplier, has already put up prices for its tracker customers, by 13% for gas and 15% for electricity.

Tracker tariffs follow wholesale power prices up and down, but experts warn that the recent changes give the green light for hikes across other tariffs too.

Karen Darby of SimplySwitch, the price comparison and switching service, says: “Historically, when one of the big suppliers increase prices, the others are quick to follow. Many analysts are now predicting price rises across all tariffs of about 15% early in 2008.

“If this happens, customers will be forced to pay an extra