Household energy bills to hit three-year high as Ofgem announces 4% rise from October

3:05 AM ETDeveloping

Politics Desk

Ofgem said the price cap will rise by £60 per year – or £5 per month – to £1,723 for the average household using both electricity and gas if this level was sustained for a year. Vanessa Northam, director at debt charity StepChange, said that the increasing number of people coming for help often had high energy debt, averaging at £2,600 on top of other financial commitments.

Ofgem said the price cap will increase by 4% compared with the current level, with a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity paying £60 a year more. Neil Kenward, Ofgem's director general for markets, said: "High international gas prices are continuing to drive energy costs in the UK.

With the cost of each unit of energy higher than at least the last two winters, Jenny Wilson, from Winsford in Cheshire, said everyone is again going to have to tighten their belts. Although the lecturer, who lives in Leeds, said that she was not on the breadline, the cost of essentials meant restricting some activities for her children.

"When winter comes and the cold bites, you need to put on the heating and need to have the money to pay for it," she said. With her family eating ice creams in the warm August weather, she said: "We have made the most of the summer!

The charity has joined calls for the government to introduce a social tariff. The average billpayer in debt, without a payment plan, owed £3,500, it said.

It is storing up problems further down the road," she said.

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Ofgem said the price cap will increase by 4% compared with the current level, with a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity paying £60 a year more.
Neil Kenward, Ofgem's director general for markets, said: "High international gas prices are continuing to drive energy costs in the UK.
Ofgem said the price cap will rise by £60 per year – or £5 per month – to £1,723 for the average household using both electricity and gas if this level was sustained for a year.
Although the lecturer, who lives in Leeds, said that she was not on the breadline, the cost of essentials meant restricting some activities for her children.
"When winter comes and the cold bites, you need to put on the heating and need to have the money to pay for it," she said.
With the cost of each unit of energy higher than at least the last two winters, Jenny Wilson, from Winsford in Cheshire, said everyone is again going to have to tighten their belts.
With her family eating ice creams in the warm August weather, she said: "We have made the most of the summer!
The average billpayer in debt, without a payment plan, owed £3,500, it said.

Sources

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