British Gas has increased energy prices by an average of 6pc. Is this profiteering or is it justified? British Gas has increased energy prices by an average of 6pc. Is this profiteering or is it justified? The average dual fuel bill will be going up by 80 a year as a result. Of that, 50 is money being collected by British Gas on behalf of the Government to fund the subsidy for renewable energy sources, such as wind farms, plus charges to pay for National Grid upgrades needed to connect these new energy sources to the transmission network. These are permitted by the Government through its energy regulator, Ofgem. As we've returned a Government in favour of these policies, it's reasonable to assume that element of the increase is justified and has popular consent. The rest relates to cost increases in wholesale energy supplies which British Gas buys on the open market or from the production facilities of its own parent company, Centrica. If Centrica is pumping gas out of the ground, why not supply British Gas at a discount, or even at no cost, to lower consumers' bills? Centrica supplies about 20pc of the British Gas energy requirement, the rest is bought at the market rate. Supplying some energy at cost, or even a loss, wouldn't allow Centrica to build the gas rigs in the first place as shareholders would never agree to fund the investment without a return for the risks involved. The gas would stay underground, or