Gas bills could rise to more than £1,000 a year by 2010, says a report last week by analysts Eclipse Energy, commissioned by the power giant Centrica, the parent company of British Gas

It blamed the fact that the price of gas is tied to oil, which spiralled to $146 a barrel this month, although it fell to $129 on Thursday.

However, experts questioned the timing of the study as oil prices began to fall last week. Some suggest it was a means of justifying a fresh round of price rises to be announced within weeks.

“It’s interesting that the report has been put out when the energy market is on a downward trend,” said Joe Malinowski at The Energy Shop, a comparison site. The high price of energy has led to a drop in demand in the US and UK markets. As stocks start to increase, the price of oil is likely to come down.

The link between oil and domestic gas prices was also questioned by Energywatch, which represents the interests of consumers. It described the link as “toxic” and said that if the price of gas was decided by supply and demand, it would be more than a third lower. Graham Kerr of Energywatch said: “We need to establish the true costs of the oil-gas price link, estimated by some to be ¤50 billion (£40 billion) to consumers across Europe each year. We also need to be clear that the price consumers pay for gas reflects the cost of producing it — and that price is set by the usual market forces of supply and demand.”

Centrica is expected to announce more gas price increases before its next annual reports are published at the end of this month.