Ofgem has announced that the typical household bill will hit £3,549 a year from 1 October as the new energy price cap is announced. On the official website, Ofgem said that the increase reflects the continued rise in global wholesale gas prices, following the Covid pandemic and Russia switching off gas supplies to Europe. The price cap for the average household is currently £1,971, and limits how much providers can charge their customers in England, Scotland and Wales. Whilst a rise this steep is never ideal, it comes amid a cost of living crisis which has left thousands financially strained as prices soar. CEO of Ofgem, Jonathan Brearley 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. “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.” Money-saving expert Martin Lewis labelled the 80% ‘hideous’ in a series of tweets, saying that “the real shock is this announcement happened without firm new help in place.” He also said: “More help is desperately needed for the poorest or people will die this winter due to [the] unaffordability of an 80% SO FAR energy price cap hike”. In a statement, a campaign spokesperson for Liz Truss: "Today’s announcement will cause grave concern to many people across the UK who will be worried about paying their bills. "As prime minister, Liz would ensure people get the support needed to get through these tough times. "She will immediately take action to put more money back in people’s pockets by cutting taxes and suspending green energy tariffs. "This is on top of ongoing work such as the Energy Bills Support Scheme, which will see a £400 discount paid to consumers from October, and the £1,200 package of support for the most vulnerable. "Liz will work flat-out to deliver long-term energy affordability and security, unleashing more energy by maximising our North Sea oil and gas production - helping keep bills down in the future." There is no need to apply for the £400 energy grant. The discount is automatically applied by energy suppliers across England, Scotland and Wales. Direct debit and credit card customers will see the money added to their account, whilst customers with prepayment metres will have the amount applied to their meter, or receive a voucher. The next price cap will be announced on 24 November, and will come into effect on 1 January 2023 until 31 March 2023.
