The following table details the annual change in prices in each year since 2002, for gas and electricity to both domestic and industrial users. The last row shows the cumulative change in prices over the five years to 2006.
Domestic Industrial Gas Electricity Gas Electricity 2002 6 -3 -5 -5 2003 2 -2 0 -6 2004 7 3 7 6 2005 15 8 45 28 2006 32 19 24 30 2001-06 54 27 83 57 Note: Prices are in real terms. Domestic prices are sourced from the Retail Prices Index. Industrial price data from BERR includes the Climate Change Levy.
The Department actively monitors the effect of changes in fuel prices on the Government’s energy policy goals, including those relating to fuel poverty, and also the impact on the UK economy. However, the Department has not commissioned any research looking specifically at the effect of changes in fuel prices on the cost of living and food prices.