Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has condemned the announcement from British Gas that they are increasing their prices by 12.5% from 15th September.
He has called for the UK Government to take action against the spiralling energy costs.
The increase will affect 3.1 million customers.
Gas prices remain unchanged, but the average annual dual-fuel bill for a typical household on a standard tariff will rise by £76 to £1,120, up by 7.3%.
The price rise will affect around 3.1 million customers on the company’s standard variable tariff.
Before the election, the Conservatives promised to cap energy prices, but this policy was left out of the Queen’s Speech in June. Last month, the energy regulator Ofgem proposed a price cap for around 2m vulnerable customers currently getting a poor deal. This stops far short of a price fall to 17m homes, as suggested in the Conservative manifesto.
Gavin Newlands said: “This latest price rise from British Gas is just another kick in the teeth for millions of consumers and will especially hit people on poor value tariffs. A third of people in Scotland struggle to afford their electricity and gas bills and a price hike just before the colder months won’t help their situation.
“The Government needs to take action to hold all energy companies accountable and protect everyone on standard variable tariffs, not just the most vulnerable.
“Everyone on standard variable tariff should take this opportunity to find out whether they could get a better deal elsewhere. Switching is simple and can save a lot of money over the year. You can contact the local Citizen Advice Bureau or Home Energy Scotland for advice on how to lower your energy bills.”
Alex Neill of Which? magazine urged British Gas customers on the standard variable tariff deal to switch to another provider immediately.
“For the customers of British Gas, they won’t really care about any of this squabbling about who’s to blame for the costs or the price rises,” she said.
“At the end of the day, these people are now paying another £76 on top of what is already more than £1,000 a year for a bill. And they’re not really seeing the difference in value that they are getting from British Gas for that £76.”
Photo Credit: Dean Moriarty