ENERGY companies will launch a fightback in the row over soaring household bills with a new report that claims government-imposed “green” charges are driving up prices.

Politicians pilloried the “big six” utilities for a flurry of recent rate rises that have pushed up the average annual household bill to £1,330 — twice what it was five years ago. The companies claim that aside from the wholesale gas price, the biggest factor in rising tariffs is the raft of subsidies for wind farms and other low-carbon technologies.

British Gas, the country’s biggest utility, said green charges accounted for £150 of the overall bill — a 50% increase from 2007, when they accounted for £94.

Energy UK, the industry body, will publish a report within days that