Utility raises rates in Britain

LONDON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- German energy giant E.ON said Thursday it would raise electric rates 16 percent and gas rates 26 percent for most of its 5.5 million British customers.

The company said its wholesale energy costs had risen 51 percent since Feb. 1, the Times of London reported.

Three-fourths of its customers would be affected by the new rates. The remaining quarter of its customers were under price protection or purchased fixed-price products, the company said.

The company said it tried to keep prices low. "I recognize that this is a very tough time for everyone," E.ON's Managing Director of Retail Graham Bartlett told The Times. "This was not an easy decision to make."