'Heartbreak' for millions of Brits as energy bills to rise by more than expected from April

Energy bills are set to rise by more than £100 a year for a typical household from April, according to regulator Ofgem’s new energy price cap.

The price cap will rise to £1,849 from April, up by 6.4% from the current rate of £1,738.

It means that a household which uses a typical amount of gas and electricity will be paying an average of £1,849 a year for their energy bills, an increase of £9.25 a month.

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In the aftermath of the cost of living crisis, campaigners fear that this could be “heartbreaking news” for vulnerable people who are already battling to afford their bills.

Megan Davies, of the Stop the Squeeze campaign, said: “Today’s energy price cap increase is yet another blow for the millions of households continuing to struggle with the cost of living. Being able to heat your home and turn on the lights shouldn’t be luxuries, but with energy prices still way above their pre-crisis average, that’s exactly what they are for too many people.”

In response to the announcement, experts have stressed that Labour should invest in “cheap clean British renewables instead of expensive natural gas”.

Davies said the government should “fix the broken energy market so that everyone’s basic energy needs can always be met, while speeding up the investment in renewables that will give us clean, affordable energy for the long term”.

It comes as new polling from National Energy Action and YouGov finds that half (49%) of adults in Britain expect to ration their energy in the coming months.

Just two in five (42%) of adults have felt comfortably able to afford their heating bill in the last three months without needing to ration or making cuts elsewhere.

Adam Scorer, chief executive at National Energy Action, said: “For the third time in a row the price cap is rising. Households already faced sky-high bills as a result of the energy crisis, and today’s announcement will add to the burden on the most vulnerable.

“We already see the impacts of sustained high bills – total energy debt is at record levels and rising, and people are rationing their heating to dangerous levels and going without essentials.”

National Energy Action has called for targeted energy bill support through a social tariff or an expanded Warm Home Discount.

Labour has announced an extension of the discount scheme on Tuesday (25 February), which will see nearly three million more families eligible to receive the £150 discount next winter. One in five families in Britain will be able to receive help through these plans.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband called Ofgem’s latest announcement “worrying news for many families”.

“This government is determined to do everything we can to protect people from the grip of fossil fuel markets. Expanding the Warm Home Discount can help protect millions of families from rising energy bills, offering support to consumers across the country,” Miliband said.

“Alongside this, the way to deliver energy security and bring down bills for good is to deliver our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower – with homegrown clean power that we in Britain control.”

The government has also pledged to work closely with Ofgem to accelerate proposals on a potential debt relief scheme, and it has rolled out the next steps of its Warm Home Plans, which is set to upgrade 300,000 homes this financial year.

Scorer said National Energy Action would also like to see a help-to-repay scheme to support households out of debt, and for the government’s Warm Homes Plan to provide “significant investment to insulate the coldest homes for the poorest households”.

Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: “This rise in energy bills is driven by the wholesale cost of natural gas and has nothing to do with the government’s policies to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases.

“Unfortunately there are some British politicians who will try to fool the public into believing that climate policies are responsible when it is our dependence on expensive fossil fuels that is making us colder and poorer. The only way to cut energy bills is to use cheap clean British renewables instead of expensive natural gas for heating and electricity.

“And approving new gas production in the North Sea will make no difference to bills because it will be sold on international markets and not at a discount to British households and businesses.”

Some people, including those who are disabled or elderly, are particularly impacted by the high costs of energy bills.

David Southgate, policy manager at disability equality charity Scope, said: “Life costs a lot more if you’re disabled. The need to run lifesaving equipment or keep the heating on year round means bills are even steeper.

“Our energy support services are on the frontline and are seeing growing numbers of disabled people get into debt with their energy bills. They’re a lifeline, with advisors helping them manage their debt and identify what other support they are eligible for.”

Scope is urging the government to introduce discounted energy bills for disabled people, and for those on disability benefits to be added to the Warm Home Discount scheme. Taylor said: “Without these interventions, we will continue to see more disabled households fall into poverty.”

Millie Brown, senior evidence manager for homes at the Centre for Ageing Better, added: “For those living on the breadline, desperately struggling to meet the basic costs of everyday living, this will be heartbreaking news.

“There are millions of older people who no longer qualify for winter fuel payments who live on paltry incomes that do not even cover the basics of a dignified life. They simply will not be able to afford higher energy prices and will cut back usage further, at significant risk to their own health.

“If the government, industry regulators and energy providers can’t stop this seemingly inexorable rise in the cost of energy, then we urgently need to see more support offered to help reduce people’s energy usage.”

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