Householders and businesses could soon face another round of gas and electricity price hikes, according to an energy expert.

Presenting at the Utilities Intermediaries Association (UIA) annual conference, Robert Buckley (pictured), Director of Cornwall Energy painted a gloomy picture for energy prices. He said third party charges and non-commodity costs would go up significantly as Ofgem’s new regulatory price controls RIIO and the Government’s Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) and Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) all start to bite.

Mr Buckley suggested the commodity cost i.e. electricity would need to go down by 20% in the next two years to keep costs at the same price that energy users are currently paying.

When asked what energy users should do, Mr Buckley added: “Energy users need to think about gas as it will become relatively cheaper to electricity, though we expect gas distribution charges to rise also in the near future. They should also strongly consider onsite generation which will help to offset some of these charges.”

The news comes as SSE announced a rise in its profits but warned it may have to increase energy prices as it is facing additional costs of more than £80 per dual fuel customer this financial year.