The public is so cynical about energy suppliers that it will dismiss any investigation into soaring prices as a “stitch-up”, the head of British Gas’s parent company said yesterday.
With the possibility of a Competition Commission inquiry looming, the Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw told The Times that distrust of the industry was so entrenched that no sudden “Damascene moment” would convince consumers that rising bills were fair.
Centrica yesterday announced a 19 per cent fall in profits to £1.26 billion for the first six months of the year, which it said justified its move to raise bills by almost a fifth next month. That rise will increase the average annual gas and electricity bill by almost £200.
Groups such as Consumer Focus yesterday repeated