Energy bills are set to fall for millions of households in Britain this winter, after the country’s energy regulator told suppliers to reduce bills by 6% from October, following a drop in wholesale gas and power prices this year.

Power firm Centrica said operating profit at its Bord Gáis unit more than doubled in the first half of the year as its power plant in Whitegate in Co Cork came back on stream.

Shell stepped closer to becoming the world’s biggest power company with an aggressive move into the UK retail market by offering one of the cheapest tariffs available.

Shares in Centrica slumped as an update from the British Gas and Bord Gáis owner showed it had lost customers in its key British market.

British Gas owner Centrica is scrapping standard gas and electricity tariffs (SVT) for new customers ahead of British Government plans to impose a price cap on the costly energy products.

Cash-strapped households could see energy bill price hikes due to recent spikes in wholesale gas and electricity prices.

Cash-strapped households could see energy bill price hikes due to recent spikes in wholesale gas and electricity prices.

The UK Treasury yesterday announced its intention to sell at least £2bn worth of shares in Lloyds Banking Group to private retail investors in spring 2016 to return the bank to full private ownership.

Shareholders in Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group are calling on the government to rethink plans to sell down its stake in the lender to ensure taxpayers get the best deal.

Bord Gáis Energy’s strong contribution to its parent group may help shield it from a culling of more than 6,000 employees from Centrica’s global workforce, which it announced yesterday.

The London market struggled for direction today as Greece prepares for yet more crunch debt talks with its creditors in the wake of its No vote.

Profits at British Gas are set to rise after the energy supplier revealed a boost in consumption following a colder than normal start to the year.

British Gas owner Centrica has clobbered shareholders with an “urgent” dividend cut to shore up its finances as profits fell by more than a third.

Annual profits at British Gas owner Centrica have fallen 35% to £1.75 billion in a “very difficult year” for the company, it said today.

How can a government that spins the sale of major parts of Bord Gáis as not being privatisation be trusted with retaining Irish Water as a public utility, asks Rory Hearne

Struggling homeowners can save almost €55 on their energy bills after Bord Gáis Energy confirmed a raft of gas and electricity price cuts.

Scottish Power is to cut domestic gas prices by 4.8%, the Big Six energy supplier announced today.

EDF Energy is shutting down four of its nuclear power reactors as a precautionary measure after a defect was found in one of them.

Holiday pay for sales staff, including workers at financial firms, may be boosted by a ruling by the EU’s top court that said commissions must be part of holiday compensation.

Bord Gáis workers are to receive a bumper payment of an average of €54,000 as part of the unwinding of the company’s Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP).

The sale of Bord Gáis Energy to a UK consortium has resulted in a bonanza payout of up to €66,000 to hundreds of workers.

The Government is set to re-invest €600m from the Bord Gáis Energy sale into projects which are capable of creating jobs and generating a commercial return.

The sale of a division of Bord Gáis is back on the table about two weeks after the Government gave up the hunt for a buyer.

Britain’s under-fire energy suppliers said today they will cut household bills after the Government confirmed a shake-up of green levies.

British consumer optimism over the UK economy continued to run at a three-year high in September amid a blossoming housing market and a further easing of concerns about employment.

Energy giant RWE npower heaped more pressure on British households today by hiking electricity and gas prices by 9.3% and 11.1% respectively from December 1.

In the UK, British Gas is planning to offer free energy to homeowners on Saturdays.

The UK government said it will sell a majority stake in 360-year-old Royal Mail via an initial public offering by the end of March.

Millions of British taxpayers should be given the chance to profit from a no-risk stake in Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds, according to a think-tank.

British householders boosted profits for British Gas owner Centrica at the start of the year as consumption increased by nearly a fifth compared with 2012 during the prolonged cold snap.

Margaret Thatcher is Britain’s most popular prime minister since the Second World War, eclipsing even Winston Churchill, a poll has found.

British Gas firm Centrica sought to deflect flak over another jump in annual profits today by flagging up its importance to the UK economy.

Royal Mail workers will be offered a 10% stake in the company as the British government steps up plans for a flotation amid a recent rally in financial markets, it was reported yesterday.

British households were facing the prospect of more price hikes today after British Gas owner Centrica warned its costs continued to mount.

Parts of Britain have been placed on amber alert today as the country lies in wait for widespread snow.

UK inflation matched its record high last month, official figures revealed today, hitting the British government with a hefty bill for increased state benefits and highlighting the tough conditions faced by households.

Inflation in the UK is expected to hit a three-year high today.

The rate of inflation continued to climb last month, official figures revealed today, as utility bill hikes hit a two-year high and clothing costs saw their biggest increase on record.

The Bank of England is set to keep interest rates at their record low of 0.5% this week after official figures revealed economic growth in the UK slowed between April and June.

Two more major energy suppliers in the UK plan big increases in the price of gas and electricity over the new two weeks, it was reported today.

Inflation in the UK unexpectedly fell last month as retailers cut prices in response to the tightening squeeze on household incomes, figures revealed today.

Millions of British Gas customers are to face higher utility bills after the company said it is putting up the price of both gas and electricity.

British Gas was fined £1m today after it miscalculated how much of the electricity it supplied to business customers had come from renewable sources.

MANCHESTER UNITED are the most hated company in Britain, according to an online survey of more than 1,000 people.

Energy giant Centrica stoked anger over energy bills today by revealing that its British Gas residential arm made record profits of £742m last year.

WE now face into an election which is unlikely to result in substantial changes to the provisions of the budget and Finance Bill.

GRAEME McDOWELL, 31, from Portrush in Co Antrim, is awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List today after a sensational golfing year.