French and British energy bills are no longer rising by 4% and 54%

A post on Facebook claimed that last week, on the day the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published figures showing the UK met what’s popularly understood to be the definition of a recession, British energy bills were rising by 54% compared to 4% in France. The post also said that British Gas had announced profits of £6.5 billion.

These price rises are out of date. They appear to have been correct in 2022, when part of the image used in the post was being shared on X (formerly Twitter).  

The owner of British Gas, Centrica, did announce £6.5 billion in pre-tax profits last week, but the profits of British Gas itself were £750 million. 

We’ve fact checked misleading comparisons of energy prices in Europe and the UK a number of times. Claims like these can spread fast and far on social media, and are difficult to contain and correct. 

What the post says

The post features an image of Rishi Sunak, which has been edited to show him holding a circular sign that features the logos of the Conservative party and the UK government, as well as the British and French flags. 

The text on the sign says: “French energy bills rise by 4%. British energy bills rise by 54%. State manufactured fuel poverty.” 

A red banner underneath this image says: “On the day we go into recession meaning the cost of living will bite harder British Gas announce 6.5 billion profits!”

What is happening to energy bills in France?

The 4% figure used in the post seems to refer to the French government capping the rise in French energy bills at 4% in in January 2022. This measure lasted a year. 

In 2023, the French government again capped energy bills for the year, but at a higher maximum rise of 15%. This year, prices are increasing by up to 9.8%.

What is happening to energy bills in Great Britain?

The 54% rise in British energy bills likely refers to the increase in the UK’s energy price cap in April 2022. The energy price cap is the maximum amount that energy suppliers can charge customers (in Great Britain) on standard variable tariffs for each unit of gas or electricity they use. 

In October 2022, the government introduced the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), which limited the amount a household should pay for each unit of gas or electricity. As a result, the annual energy consumption of a typical household with average use would have cost about £2,500 (up until June 2023). This represented a rise of 27%—although between October 2022 and March 2023, the government also reduced household energy bills by £400 through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

In June 2023, the energy price cap fell below the level of the EPG, effectively reducing household energy bills. In October 2023, the Energy Price Guarantee changed slightly, and became a discount on standing charges—a charge paid to energy providers to cover fixed costs associated with providing energy.

Since then, the energy price cap fell in October 2023, before increasing by 5% on 1 January 2024. It will fall by 12.3% from April 2024.

British Gas profits

The post says that British Gas “announces 6.5 billion profits … on the day we go into recession”. Neither of these points is quite right.

Last week, on 15 February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced the UK’s latest quarterly growth figures, which showed a second consecutive quarter of negative growth, meaning the economy met the popular definition of a recession between July and December 2023. This doesn’t mean the country entered a recession on that day.  

On 15 February, British Gas’s profits for 2023 were also announced—but they were £750 million, not £6.5 billion as the post says.

Centrica, British Gas’s parent company, announced that its 2023 pre-tax profit was £6.5 billion, while its “adjusted operating profit” was £2.8 billion. 

We approached the author of the Facebook post for comment.

Image courtesy of ri.