British Gas Price changes

Centrica PLC
9 February 2001

9th February 2001



Centrica plc- British Gas price changes

Centrica plc confirms that British Gas has today announced an increase in
prices for all domestic gas customers from 1 April and indicated that further
changes are extremely unlikely this year. At the same time it will cut
domestic electricity prices for customers in England and Wales.

The increase, averaging 4.7 per cent, is largely in line with those already
announced by other major suppliers, and results from the significant
escalation in gas costs affecting the whole industry.

The British Gas price rise will add £14 to the average annual bill for mains
gas customers, which equates to less than 27 pence per week. It will be
applied from April so will not affect winter bills.

The announcement was accompanied by news of an average reduction of 3.7 per
cent in electricity prices from 1 April. More than 3.5 million customers who
take electricity from British Gas in England and Wales will see an annual
reduction of £9 in their bills. The great majority of these are customers who
buy both fuels from British Gas and who will therefore see an average increase
of only £5 a year in their overall energy bill.

The cut reflects the fact that electricity wholesale prices have already
fallen in anticipation of new electricity trading arrangements, NETA, which
are to be introduced shortly in England and Wales.

Electricity prices will not change in Scotland. For more than two years
customers have, on average, enjoyed greater savings than in England and Wales
as a result of supply contracts negotiated under different trading
arrangements there.

Mike Alexander, Managing Director of British Gas Trading, said: 'We wanted to
act now to reassure customers who have been concerned by the recent
speculation about high price rises as a result of increased gas costs. Not
only is the increase much lower than many predicted but it is extremely
unlikely there will be any further change this year.

'We have worked hard to protect customers from the volatility of the current
gas market and customers can be assured that we remain committed to pricing
competitively and providing value for money. Our track record is evidence of
this and shows a reduction in gas bills of nearly 20 per cent in real terms
over the past five years.'



Enquiries:

Centrica Media Relations        01753 758445

Centrica Investor Relations     01753 758114





Notes

1. British Gas Trading supplies 14 million gas and 4 million electricity
customers through its British Gas and Scottish Gas brands.

2. The gas price increase applies to domestic mains customers in England,
Scotland and Wales and will apply to gas used from 1 April. The £14 average
annual increase in gas bills is based on a consumption of 19,050 kWh and
includes VAT.

3. Gas Prepayment and cash/cheque customers see the smallest percentage
increase - 4.4%. Prices for Direct Debit and Prompt Pay customers will go up
by 4.9% and 4.8% respectively. This is based on a consumption of 19,050 kWh
and includes VAT.

4. Over the past five years British Gas customers have seen gas bill
reductions (excluding VAT) of nearly 20 per cent in real terms. Despite
inflation, the average annual bill has fallen from £315 in February 1996 to £
290 in February 2001.

5. The electricity price decrease applies to domestic electricity customers in
England and Wales and will apply to electricity used from 1 April. The average
annual bill for customers using electricity only is reduced by £9, based on a
consumption of 3,300 kWh, including VAT.

6. Savings in Scotland refer to comparisons with local PES prices.

7. Prepayment and cash/cheque customers buying electricity only will see a
reduction of 3.6% and Direct Debit bills will fall by 3.8%, based on a
consumption of 3,300 kWh, including VAT.

8. The new electricity trading arrangements, NETA, are due to be introduced on
27 March, subject to the final stages of testing. Electricity prices have
already fallen in anticipation of the new arrangements.

9. British Gas remains committed to supporting the fuel poor. Last week,
British Gas announced an innovative Household Bill Paying Account in
conjunction with the Bank of Scotland aimed at providing basic banking
facilities to those who currently have no bank account. This will be available
later in the year and will enable more customers than ever to take advantage
of direct debit discounts for their fuel.

10. This new service is being promoted alongside Warm-a-Life, British Gas's
scheme which aims to provide the fuel poor with energy efficiency measures in
their homes to cut bills, and a 'benefits healthcheck' to ensure that
customers are claiming the Government benefits they are entitled to. Pilot
results from the free healthcheck show eligible customers can boost their
annual benefits by an average of £1,000.

11. Ofgem will shortly publish its final proposals on British Gas Trading's
price controls. These price changes are subject to Ofgem's final decision.

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