Energy bills: what can you do to beat the biggest rise in living memory?
From 1 April, most households in Great Britain will see their energy bills rise by 54% – or almost £700 – to just under £2,000 a year. It will be the biggest rise in living memory but may only be the start. Here we answer all your questions about the fuel crisis and examine what help is available.
That is the day energy suppliers are allowed to increase their variable gas and electricity tariffs to the new maximum set by the energy regulator, Ofgem. Almost all households are now on these capped gas and electricity tariffs – about 22 million in total.
Across providers, the unit prices of the gas and electricity and the standing charges – the amount charged each day to supply a household – are rising. The energy firms can only charge up to the capped rates, and the average dual-fuel bill can’t exceed £1,971. Bigger-using households will have substantially larger annual bills.
Hidden within the new bills are big increases in electricity standing charges, and the unit price of gas. For example, Shell Energy recently told its customers in the east of England area that its electricity standing charge was rising from 24.01p to 37.92p a day, – a 57% rise. The rate for each unit of electricity goes up by 40% to 29.24p a kWh.
Its gas standing charges are set to increase by just over 4% but the cost of each unit is rising by 81% from 4.05p to 7.34p a kWh. Other suppliers are imposing similar increases.
Unfortunately, Friday’s increase is only the start of the pain as prices are expected to go up again in six months’ time. The regulator, Ofgem, announced next week’s increase several weeks before the war in Ukraine had started, sending wholesale gas prices even higher.
In July, Ofgem staff will begin to calculate what it thinks the new
Read more on theguardian.com
