Scots could face gas and electricity bills totalling close on £5,500 a year by next April, according to the latest dire forecasts on energy prices.
After gas prices spiked again, consultants Auxilione said average households could be facing annual bills of £4,650 from January and £5,456 from April.
The price prediction adds nearly £200 to the consultancy’s previous forecast for April.
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The new forecast predicts that bills will start falling from July, initially to £4,811 and then to £4,446. But this is still thousands of pounds more than families are paying at the moment.
Labour has called for the price cap to be frozen at its current level of £1,971 until April to help struggling families through an otherwise disastrous winter.
The £29 billion scheme would be paid for partly by increaseing the windfall tax on the massive profits made by oil and gas companies.
Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss has declared that she is against windfall taxes and former chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised targetted support in addtion to the £400 help for households with bills that will be paid in six instalments starting in October.
Sunak’s scheme was announced after previous campaiging from Labour and when it was thoughtthe price cap would only reach £2,800 in October.
Both Scottish and UK government’s are under pressure to do more to support households.
Conor Forbes, director of policy with Advice Direct Scotland, said: “This latest warning will add to the financial misery facing many households across Scotland."
Forbes added: “There is a lot of talk about forthcoming government action, but there are steps that households in Scotland can take today to seek support.
“Our expert advisers at the national energyadvice.scot service provide free, impartial and practical advice on energy bills, including accessing grants and benefits.”
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