Soaring energy bills set to push inflation to 16-year high

Becky Barrow
UK Daily Mail
Saturday, Aug 2, 2008

Soaring energy bills could push inflation to a 16-year high of five per cent next month, experts warned tonight.

At this level, it will be more than double the Government’s two per cent target, which could force the Bank of England into raising interest rates.

Economists blame the imminent inflation hike on the latest round of massive rises in families’ fuel bills.

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On Wednesday, British Gas sent shockwaves with its announcement of a record 35 per cent increase in gas bills.

It is the second time the energy giant, which has 16million customers, has hiked its gas prices at an inflation-busting rate this year.

In January, it was slammed for increasing its gas prices during the depths of winter by 15 per cent with immediate effect.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec Bank, said he predicts CPI (consumer price index) will hit five per cent in September.

His forecast assumes that the other big energy giants will follow British Gas with price hikes in the next few weeks.

EDF Energy was the first to raise its prices followed by British Gas and their rivals are almost guaranteed to follow their lead.

Mr Shaw estimates price hikes will average 20 per cent in gas, possibly even more, and 16 per cent in electricity.

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2 Responses to “Soaring energy bills set to push inflation to 16-year high”

1. Emule Says:
   August 2nd, 2008 at 8:15 am

   Yeah if you ask me, this is all stupid. Its kind of like, if you can’t pay your bills, you get more charges. Hasn’t these dumb people ever thought that ; well gee, prices are rising so we can’t expect people to pay more for stuff because they are already dealing with higher prices already…

2. Christar Says:
   August 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 pm

   I don’t want communism, but what are the people with fixed incomes, or who are unemployed, or who only have one, low paying crummy job, supposed to do when they can no longer afford these ridiculous, ever increasing bills?
   The cost of living keeps increasing while the value of money and wages decreases!
   Whoever invented this system is insane!

   Slum lords, and grocery stores, and electric companies, and gas stations etc. should all be forced to either lower their rates, or cap their prices where they are. If and when the economy improves, and when most people hopefully have jobs again, then you can remove the price caps.
   Otherwise more and more people are just going to go homeless and starve.
   That is my proposed solution, but does anyone even care?

   Also, why can’t their be designated places throughout every country where homeless people, and the struggling poor can live cheaply, or even for free?
   I am sure as a society we could afford to build areas like that, like a “human wildlife reserve”.

   The point is, everything is just too damn expensive!

   It seems like this whole world is designed only around the ruthless, cruel elite who have no compassion for human suffering.

   It is like we only have two choices, work (in a dead end slave job), or die.

   There needs to be a third choice! Freedom!

   Freedom to live where you want, and to do what you want. To develop your talents and realize your dreams. To breath fresh clean air, eat healthy food, and drink clean water. To enjoy this magnificent world God created for us and bask in its beauty.

   Life was not meant to be slavery.
   I just want to be free.