RISING energy bills and the battle for supermarket and mobile phone customers will be in the spotlight with figures from SSE, Vodafone and Sainsbury’s.

The heat will be on energy giant SSE on Wednesday when it reveals how much money it is making for the first time since a winter price hike.

SSE, formally known as Scottish & Southern Energy, recently increased prices by an average of 9% in a move which will affect five million electricity customers and 3.4 million gas customers.

Customers will be looking at interim results closely amid anger that firms are leaving customers out in the cold while they continue to turn in huge profits.

But the energy companies have blamed the rises on wholesale prices and increased running costs, especially for transporting gas and electricity to customers’ homes, plus the cost of energy efficiency programmes.

In May, SSE posted a 2% rise in annual profits to £1.3bn but the surplus from domestic operations was down 21% to £271.7m as it battled higher costs and falling consumption.

SSE was the first of the “big six” energy companies to increase prices, but it was followed by all the other major suppliers apart from E.ON which made a promise not to raise tariffs this year.

Investors will also be watching to see if the unseasonably chilly autumn has boosted consumption.

British Gas owner Centrica will also be in the spotlight on Thursday, having announced it will increase its prices by an average of 6% on November 16.

The UK’s biggest energy supplier, which is due to post a trading update, came under fire in July for making residential operating profits of £345m in the space of six months, equivalent to £1.9m a day.