ENERGY PRICE CAP: Energy bills set to soar to £3,549 from October as price cap rises by more than 80 percent

Regulator Ofgem has confirmed that the energy price cap will increase from £1,971 to £3,549 from October.
Georgina Cutler
By Georgina Cutler
Published 26th Aug 2022, 08:32 BST
Updated 26th Aug 2022, 08:47 BST
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On Friday morning, (August 26) the regulator announced that the rise will send the average household’s yearly bill from £1,971 to £3,549 from October.

The cap – which will effect around 24 million households across England, Scotland and Wales on default energy tariffs on October 1 – will remain in place until December 31, when it will be adjusted again.

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Energy UK, which represents suppliers, said the charges it will be forced to pass on to households will be “simply unaffordable”.

File photo dated 03/02/22 of an online energy bill. Around one in eight people think energy bills will go down this winter, while most underestimate the massive price rises that are likely to come. New research from Uswitch found that families believe their household gas and electricity bills will go up by £487 from the start of October. Issue date: Tuesday August 16, 2022.File photo dated 03/02/22 of an online energy bill. Around one in eight people think energy bills will go down this winter, while most underestimate the massive price rises that are likely to come. New research from Uswitch found that families believe their household gas and electricity bills will go up by £487 from the start of October. Issue date: Tuesday August 16, 2022.
File photo dated 03/02/22 of an online energy bill. Around one in eight people think energy bills will go down this winter, while most underestimate the massive price rises that are likely to come. New research from Uswitch found that families believe their household gas and electricity bills will go up by £487 from the start of October. Issue date: Tuesday August 16, 2022.

For around 4.5 million pre-payment meter customers, who are often the most vulnerable and already in fuel poverty, the rise will mean their average annual bill will go up by £3,608.

This morning Ofgem’s chief executive Jonathan Brearley has warned of the hardship energy prices will cause this winter and has urged the incoming Prime Minister and new Cabinet “to provide an additional and urgent response to continued surging energy prices”.

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He said: “We know the massive impact this price cap increase will have on households across Britain and the difficult decisions consumers will now have to make. I talk to customers regularly and I know that today’s news will be very worrying for many.

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“The price of energy has reached record levels driven by an aggressive economic act by the Russian state. They have slowly and deliberately turned off the gas supplies to Europe causing harm to our households, businesses and wider economy. Ofgem has no choice but to reflect these cost increases in the price cap.

“The Government support package is delivering help right now, but it’s clear the new Prime Minister will need to act further to tackle the impact of the price rises that are coming in October and next year.

“We are working with ministers, consumer groups and industry on a set of options for the incoming Prime Minister that will require urgent action. The response will need to match the scale of the crisis we have before us. With the right support in place and with regulator, Government, industry and consumers working together, we can find a way through this.”

Related topics:OfgemPrime MinisterWalesEnglandScotland