British Gas, E.ON to freeze UK energy prices this winter

(Adds E.ON price freeze announcement)

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 1 (Reuters) - Centrica (Frankfurt: A0DK6K - news) owned British Gas and E.ON, two of Britain's "big six" suppliers, have frozen their standard energy prices this winter, adding to pressure on rivals to do the same.

British wholesale gas and electricity prices have risen about 30 and 40 percent respectively since June, along with a rebound in other commodities such as coal, leading to speculation that some electricity suppliers could raise prices.

British Gas, Britain's biggest energy supplier with 6 million customers, said the price of its standard variable energy tariff would remain unchanged through this winter.

E.ON also said on Thursday its residential standard energy prices would not increase until at least April 2017.

The moves follow price freeze pledges last month from rival SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) , and independent supplier Good Energy (LSE: GOOD.L - news) .

It also ramps up pressure on the remaining "big six" firms Iberdrola (Amsterdam: ID6.AS - news) 's Scottish Power, RWE (IOB: 0FUZ.IL - news) 's npower and EDF Energy, to do the same.

Energy bills have doubled in Britain over the past decade to about 1,200 pounds ($1,640) a year, and the government has said it could intervene in the market if it believes prices are too high. (Reporting By Susanna Twidale; Editing by Susan Fenton and David Evans)