Shock as Highland households hit hardest by Scottish Gas price rise
A MAJOR price hike by Scottish Gas which will see Highland households pay more than other areas of Scotland has been condemned.
A North council chief and a consumer rights leader described the price rise announced today by parent company Centrica as "shocking".
For it emerged that cash-strapped Highland residents will be the hardest hit this winter.
The rise in prices, due to come in on November 23, will see people from the region pay an average of 11.2 per cent more on their bills
This is compared with just an average of 9.5 per cent across the rest of Scotland, and 9.2 per cent across the whole of Britain – more than three times the rate of inflation.
Highland Council leader Drew Hendry has condemned the "stinging" price increase, and called for a shift away from fossil fuels.
"I think it’s a shocking rise and the effects will be felt disproportionately by people in rural areas," the SNP council chief said. "We’ve got to continue to move our reliance away from these kind of gas-driven power sources. "
"There’ll need to be a lot more work done to alleviate the pressures brought by these stinging increases."
The Citizens’ Advice Bureau will be bracing itself for further pleas for help. It is already dealing with a record number of cases following recent welfare and tax reforms.
CAB general manager Alasdair Christie – who is also a Highland councillor – said he was shocked by the scale of the price rise.
"This will hurt many families who are struggling, especially those already in danger of falling into the poverty trap," he said.
The rising cost of energy has been a hot topic for weeks, following Labour Leader Ed Miliband’s pledge to freeze prices should he win the 2015 UK General Election.
Centrica is the latest company to find itself in hot water over a controversial price rise, following on from SSE’s announcement of an 8.2% increase last week.
The company’s managing director Ian Peters insists that the decision was not taken lightly, saying that "what is pushing up energy prices at the moment are costs that are not all directly under our control".
