Bad news for households and businesses. Utility prices, particularly gas and power, in the UK are about to go up. Starting the first of May this year, Scottish & Southern Energy customers will see their gas bills rise by 16.5% and electricity bills by 9.4%. This is said to be the biggest increase imposed by any UK energy supplier so far within the year. Energy supplier Npower is the only other power generator to increase rates so far.
This news is expected to add to the overhead costs of running businesses, especially brick-and-mortar ones. Perhaps this signals that it’s time for business to go online. True enough, many entrepreneurs setting up new companies nowadays choose to directly engage in e-commerce activities rather than start with a traditional set-up. Some noted advantages of engaging in a purely online business are the low utility and staffing costs.