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BRITISH Gas has signalled it’s on course to make a record £700million this year – just days after announcing an inflation-busting price rise.

Profits at the country’s biggest energy supplier are set to jump by almost a fifth after adding 270,000 customers in 2010.

Parent company Centrica’s profits are on track to surge by around the same amount and could top £2.2billion this year.

The bumper haul is unlikely to go down well with households still reeling from last week’s price hike blow.

Bosses blamed a big rise in wholesale costs for increasing gas and electricity bills by 7% from December 10.

The move came a fortnight after Scottish & Southern Energy announced a 9.4% increase in gas bills for 3.6m people.

Scott Byrom, energy manager at the price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com, branded yesterday’s profit forecast “another kick in the teeth for customers”.

Audrey Gallacher, head of energy at Consumer Focus, added: “This begs the question, yet again, of why customers have seen only tiny price cuts when wholesale costs have been so low for so long, yet suppliers hike prices as soon as wholesale costs start to edge up.”

The watchdog, which is being scrapped by the ConDems, called on the Government to force suppliers to reveal how much they pay for wholesale energy.

British Gas now has almost 16m energy accounts after a price cut earlier this year helped it poach business from rivals.

In an update yesterday, Centrica said it’s also benefitted from a 50% jump in gas and oil production and higher profits in its North America energy supply arm.