Video: Energy companies claim hike in prices is justified Energy bills are poised to rise by up to £178 a year under a deal struck between George Osborne and the Liberal Democrats to pay for a series of wind farms and nuclear power stations. Angela Knight, head of Energy UK, the industry group, sympathised with consumers over rising bills but said the increased costs were justified. "Investors need to have some security that there is going to be a reasonable return, and this [investment in infrastructure] isn't just a few hundred thousand pounds, it's not even a few million, it's billions," she said.