Utilities

Thames Water is one of the companies that pays little corporation tax in the UK

Three UK water firms pay tiny tax bills despite big dividends

Three of the UKs top water companies, Thames, Anglian and Yorkshire Water are paying tiny amounts of corporation tax despite paying bosses high salaries and making big dividend payments.

Poorest consumers could get lower water bills

Water bills to be means tested to help poorest 2.4m households

Water companies will be given the power to cut their prices for the poorest customers under new ‘social tariffs’ revealed by the Government.

Millions of UK households could save £200+ by switching energy suppliers

Britons could be paying more than they need to for gas and electricity because they are not switching suppliers.

Despite the cuts from four of the "big six" smaller energy suppliers top the best-buy tables

Small energy firms should take credit for gas and electricity price cuts

The smaller energy companies such as Ovo, the Co-op and First Utility remain the best-buys and should take the credit for forcing the hand of the "big six" price cuts.

Npower will reduce gas prices by 5% from Feb 1st

Npower to cut gas bills by five per cent from February 1st

Npower has become the fourth of the "big six" energy suppliers to announce a cut in the cost of gas and electricity this week following the lead of EDF, British Gas and SSE.

SSE will cut gas prices by 4.5% from March 26th

SSE to cut gas prices by 4.5% from March 26th

SSE is the third of the "big six" to announce a price cut. Following the lead of EDF Energy and British Gas, SSE will cut gas prices by 4.5 per cent from March 26th.

New figures show rise in energy company complaints

EDF Energy tops big six energy customer complaints table

There was a rise in complaints to energy suppliers between July and September 2011, new figures have shown.

Wales has the highest proportion of households in fuel poverty in the UK

Wales tops fuel poverty league

Research from uSwitch.com puts Wales at the top of the fuel poverty league and the region also has the highest average bills in the UK. London is at the bottom.

Getting the best deal for your household energy

Gas and electricity: New option for finding cheap energy deals

A new website has been launched that claims to be impartial and compares all UK suppliers to help households find the most competitive deals on gas and electricity.

Incahoot bring consumers together to negotiate better deals

Incahoot bring consumers together to save money on utilities

Ben Salisbury asks John Evans, the CEO of Incahoot how UK households can save money through bulk purchases and finds that insurance deals will join Incahoot's roster.

The Bank of England publishes its October inflation report today

Bank of England expected to report slight fall in inflation

The Bank of England publishes its October inflation report this morning which is expected to show a slight fall in the consumer prices index from 5.2 per cent.

The big six energy firms are failing to provide customers with their cheapest tariffs, Which? has found.

Energy firms slammed by Which? for hiding best fuel deals

Consumer organisation Which? has conducted a study and found that energy firms' sales staff do not give out information on the cheapest deals in one-third of all calls.

water bills are set to increase for around half of all UK households

Water bills set to rise over change in responsibility for private sewers

Water bills will rise for around half of all UK households because water companies are to take over the responsibility of maintaining and repairing private sewers.

Ofgem has written to utility companies asking them to explain their billing

Ofgem asks energy companies to explain billing

The energy regulator, Ofgem, has written to UK energy companies asking them to explain their billing procedures when a bill period covers two price tiers after a price rise. This follows mistakes made by EDF Energy announced this week.

E.ON has announced big increases in the cost of gas and electricity

E.ON announce 18% gas & 11% electricity price increases

E.ON are the fourth of the big six utility suppliers to announce double digit price increases in the cost of both gas and electricity. The price rises will be applied from September 13th.

British Gas has announced price rises from August for both gas and electricity

British Gas to raise gas and electricity prices in August

British Gas, owned by Centrica, has announced that it will increase the cost of gas by an average of 18 per cent and electricity by an average of 16 per cent for UK customers from August.

Inflation is bearing down on British budgets

One in four households reach financial edge due to inflation

Nearly a quarter of households were already at their financial limits before this week's confirmation that inflation remains at 4.5 per cent.

Ofgem urged to do more in energy market crackdown

Ofgem crackdown 'should go further' on energy market

Energy customers want Ofgem to do more to tighten the rules on utility bills and the information they present.

Holiday mobile phone users face high bills

High bills 'burning' mobile phone users on holiday

Ignorance of roaming charges is leading some Brits to face mobile phone bills of hundreds of pounds when they return from holiday.

Centrica to operate South Morecambe intermittently

British Gas turns to imports as Morecambe profitability hits zero

Crippling taxes have left Centrica reassessing profitability in South Morecambe as the government has imposed an 81 per cent total rate on output.

BT cuts cost per minute of calls to mobiles

Bank holiday calls to mobiles 'cheaper from landlines'

Cheaper phone bills could await anyone who makes a call from a landline to a mobile phone this bank holiday weekend.

British Gas launch WebSaver 12 fixed energy tariff

Consumers have been advised to take a look at their energy bills as tariffs are currently in the process of changing.

EDF Energy announces new dual fuel tariff

EDF announces 'cheapest' dual fuel energy tariff

EDF Energy has announced details of a new dual fuel energy tariff that it claims is cheaper than any other similar tariff across all regions.

Co-op enters the gas and electricity markets

The Co-operative is entering the utilities market and says that its new energy tariff is set to shake up the energy industry by offering consumers a fair and honest deal.