Families hit by 18 per cent rise in energy prices

Thousands of families in and around London were hit with huge increases in energy bills today.

Scottish & Southern Energy became the third of the "big six" to lift its tariffs for gas and electricity - following British Gas and Scottish Power.

The company said its gas price will go up by 18 per cent and electricity by 11 per cent on September 14. The increase raises the typical annual household energy bill by £171 from £1,094 to £1,265. The other major suppliers, npower, Eon and EDF, are all expected to follow suit in the next few weeks. The move angered consumer groups, who warned that many customers will struggle to pay.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at price comparison website uSwitch, said: "Despite household energy bills having rocketed by almost £500 or 71 per cent in just over five years, consumers are still being asked to pay more. The biggest concern has to be the impact on fuel poverty."

Scottish and Southern has around 5.2 million electricity customers and 3.6 million gas customers nationally but has a strong concentration in the west London suburbs. It said it was forced into the move by sharp increases in the wholesale price of gas and power.

The severity of the squeeze on consumers was revealed in official data showing that the amount of food being put into supermarket trolleys is falling at the fastest rate on record. Food volumes were down 4.2 per cent in the year to last month as consumers cut back on essentials. It was the biggest drop since records began in 1988.