EdF Energy today became the latest company to push up energy bills for British customers when it raised its gas prices by 12.9 per cent and electricity by 7.9 per cent.

EdF's five million customers will begin paying the new tariffs from January 18. The higher prices will add £1.92 a week to the average combined bill for both gas and electricity.

Earlier this month, npower, Britain’s fourth-largest power supplier, drew criticism when it raised customers' bills by 17 per cent for gas and 13 per cent for electricity.

Npower said that it had been forced to lift the average household bill for dual-fuel customers from £908 to £1,047 because the cost of buying energy on the wholesale markets had “increased dramatically”.

EdF Energy also placed the blame on the rising price of wholesale power. It said today that wholesale energy prices have doubled in the past year and distribution costs of transporting and metering energy have also risen.

Eva Eisenschimmel, chief operating officer in the customers branch at EDF Energy, said: “We regret any decision to raise our prices. Despite soaring wholesale energy prices, higher distribution costs and increased environmental obligations, we have been able to substantially limit the impact on our customers.”

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