British gas bills could jump 70 percent

LONDON, July 18 (UPI) -- Centrica, the largest energy supplier in Britain, has warned its customers to expect energy bills to rise by 70 percent in the next few years.

"I think people will change the temperature they keep the house. They'll be more cognizant of energy waste. They'll buy better appliances," Centrica's managing director Jake Ulrich told The Guardian.

Centrica, which owns British Gas, based its estimate on a report by energy research firm Eclipse, The Guardian reported.

Energy bills for "a typical domestic customer," could climb from about $1,200 a year to nearly $2,000 a year, the report said.

Britain currently imports 40 percent of its natural gas and its domestic production is in decline, the report said.

Tim Wolfenden of Uswitch, a price comparison firm, said energy prices could rise 46 percent this year, but British Gas is keeping mum on any rate hikes.

"We are taking a real hammering. If prices don't go up, we will be losing serious money as we go into winter," a source from inside the company told the Guardian.