Gas costs you THREE times what the energy firms pay

The way millions of households are being ripped off by the big energy firms is laid bare today.

Figures show customers are being charged at least three times the price their suppliers pay for gas.

Wholesale costs have halved in six months yet bills have not fallen. It means customers on British Gas’s one-year fixed-rate tariff are paying an almost four-fold mark-up.

• Wholesale costs have halved in six months yet bills have not fallen

• British Gas, which supplies 40 per cent of homes, is under fire for its costs

• Parent company, Centrica, announced profits of £900million for the first six months of the financial year

British Gas, which supplies around 40 per cent of homes, and other firms are under fire for their costs at a time when the Competition and Markets Authority is holding an inquiry into the energy supply business.

Its parent company, Centrica, announced profits of £900million for the first six months of the financial year. British Gas customers are paying between £1.35 and £1.50 per therm.

Yet the wholesale gas price paid by suppliers has hit a four-year low of less than 42p per therm, down from 72p in December.

The other Big Six energy companies – nPower, EDF, SSE, E.on and Scottish Power – charge between £1.21 and £1.37 per therm.

Read More: Gas costs you THREE times what the energy firms pay