Energy firms are set to double their profits in the space of 12 months after refusing to pass on to customers huge falls in the cost of wholesale oil and gas.
Ofgem, the energy industry regulator, said yesterday that companies would make on average £106 from each customer they supply with electricity and gas, up from £53 last year and from £9 five years ago.
The record profits come at a time when the prices paid by the Big Six companies — British Gas, EDF, E.ON, SSE, Npower and Scottish Power — for electricity and gas have fallen to a near four-year low.
Ann Robinson, from uswitch.com, the price comparison website, said that the companies had no excuse not to cut bills. “Now is