The amounts refer to households covered by a basic variable charge plan, i.e. a total of approximately 24 million households in the country.
of Thanasis Gavou
The annual electricity and natural gas bill consumed by a typical household in Britain will increase from October to £3,549 (€4,202) a year.
This is an 80% rise in energy bills (or £1,578/€1,868), which follows independent regulator Ofgem’s decision to raise again the cap on charges for energy consumed by households.
The amounts refer to households which are under a basic variable charge plan, i.e. a total of about 24 million households in the country.
Since last April the annual fee has been set at £1,971 (€2,334), while before that British households paid £1,277 (€1,512) a year.
Justifying the new expected increase, Ofgem said it was a result of higher wholesale gas and electricity prices.
Forecasts say the charge cap will rise further in January, taking the energy bill to more than £5,000 (€5,921) a year and then even more in April 2023.
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said the £15bn household support package announced by the outgoing Johnson government to tackle energy insecurity will no longer be enough. In May when the package was announced, the forecast was for bills of £2,800 (€3,315) in October.
Despite continued calls for additional measures, the government is referring any new decision to Boris Johnson’s successor, who will be named on September 5.
At a pre-election event on Thursday night, front-runner for Prime Minister Liz Truss said she would table an emergency budget aimed at helping households across the country pay their soaring energy bills. Mrs. Trass has stated that she supports cutting taxes in return for granting emergency aid.
Current Finance Minister Nadeem Zahawi admitted that the new increase will cause “stress and anxiety for many people”.
Stop Fuel Poverty Alliance co-ordinator Simon Francis warned that the new increase means “parents will be unable to feed their children, the sick and elderly will be condemned to worse health, the disabled will be deprived of vital medical equipment and households will be pushed into poverty for the first time in generations.”
The director of the organization National Energy Action Adam Scorer spoke of a “winter-Armageddon” for the poorest households, while the mayor of London Sadiq Khan warned of a “national disaster”.
The main opposition Labor Party has advocated a freeze on the charge ceiling, as have the country’s major energy companies.
Increases in energy bills are the key factor behind the spike in inflation, which has stood at 10.1% and is forecast to continue rising. The most ominous forecast, from Citi bank, has put inflation at 18.6% in January.
Read the News today and get the latest news. Follow us on Google News and be the first to learn all the news from Skai.gr.
