Millions of households are set to struggle to pay their bills after Ofgem increased the energy price cap on Friday.
The UK’s energy regulator set the new price cap at £3,549 from October 1, marking a sharp 80 per cent rise in the cost of energy.
Families could face destitution over the winter if they have to pay 24.37p per kilowatt hour for the gas they burn to keep their homes at a liveable temperature. The price is currently 7.37p, already higher than ever before.
For the average household that means a bill of £5,632 per year from January, up 59 per cent compared to the newly set next cap which is coming in on October 1.
And in the worst warning yet, energy consultancy Auxilione forecast a £7,700 bill from April 2023 - with gas costing consumers 34.22p per kWh.
As a result, the chairman of the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee said the “vast majority of people” may now be in fuel poverty,
