British Gas has announced it is to increase its electricity tariffs by 12.5 per cent in September.
The energy giant confirmed the price rise, which will take effect on September 15, after a blunder on Monday saw the group mistakenly publish an incomplete statement about increasing electricity tariffs on its website.
Centrica-owned British Gas said the hike is its first since November 2013. It will affect 3.1 million customers.
The company has pledged to help protect more than 200,000 vulnerable customers from the increase.
It will mean an average dual fuel bill for a typical annual household tariff will rise by £76 to £1,120 - a 7.3 per cent increase, according to British Gas.
The group said it held off from the rise for "up to six months longer than some of our competitors".
Details of the increase comes as Centrica posted half-year results revealing that earnings from its consumer business plunged by more than a quarter after it lost 377,000 UK customer accounts in the first half.
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