British Gas is the UK's largest supplier of gas and electricity for domestic use. But does 'biggest' mean best? Find out what the supplier offers and how British Gas tariffs, charges and customer service measure up.
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Who is British Gas?
British Gas is part of the Centrica Group, which was formed following the merger of British Gas plc in 1997. British Gas also operates under the names Scottish Gas in Scotland.
British Gas customer rating 2019
British Gas was rated three stars out of five by customers in the 2019 independent survey from uSwitch and YouGov. The big six supplier's customers rated them in categories including Smart Meter Installation and Energy Efficiency.
Recent price changes from British Gas
In February 2019, British Gas announced it would be raising prices for around 4 million of its standard variable customers by 10%, effective 1 April 2019. The supplier increased its rates to the new energy price cap level of £1,254.
In April 2018, British Gas announced a price rise of 5.5% for all dual fuel standard variable rate tariff customers, effective 29 May 2018.
The increase put the big six supplier's standard tariff at £369 above the cheapest energy deal on the market at the time of announcement.
Read more about British Gas' price change history.
The table below shows which of the big six energy suppliers, including British Gas, changed their prices in 2018 and 2019, and by how much:
| Supplier | Price change 1 | Date effective | Price change 2 | Date effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|  10% | 1 Apr 2019 | N/A | N/A |
| 10% | 1 Apr 2019 | N/A | N/A |
| 10% | 1 Apr 2019 | N/A | N/A |
| 10% | 1 Apr 2019 | N/A | N/A |
| 10% | 1 Apr 2019 | N/A | N/A |
| 10% | 1 Apr 2019 | N/A | N/A |
Based on a medium energy user on a standard dual fuel tariff, paying on receipt of bill, with bill sizes averaged across all regions.
Previous price changes from British Gas
In August 2017, after freezing prices for six months, British Gas announced it would raise electricity prices by 12.5% on its standard plan customers. This price rise took effect 15 September 2017.
Previously, in February 2017, British Gas had announced it would extend its price freeze until August 2017. This news came after three other big six suppliers — EDF Energy, ScottishPower and npower — had announced price rises of 1.8%, 7.8% and 9.8%, respectively.
In November 2016, British Gas announced that it would freeze prices for standard rate customers for the winter season. The supplier promised to keep rates where they were until at least March 2017 (later extended to August 2017).