Money saving expert Martin Lewis has urged the UK Government to take action now before the energy price cap in Britain increase in October to help millions of households across the country cope with the surging cost of bills.
The latest forecast from Cornwall Insight has warned that heating bills will hit £4,266 by January.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday to voice his concerns over the lack of additional support being put in place to offset Ofgem’s price cap which comes into effect on October 1.
READ MORE: Money saving expert explains how you can save £500 amid cost of living crisis
He said: “In May when the [UK] Government was facing political problems due to Boris Johnson, they were planning to make an announcement on energy in July and August, that was brought forward to May and the mechanism for bringing it forward is they asked Ofgem to publish forward guidance of what the price cap would be and they were therefore able to crystallise what was happening and they then made the announcements of the up to £1,200 available for the poorest homes.”
The financial guru also explained how for every £100 someone is currently paying per month through direct debit, from October 1 that will increase to £181. From January, that will jump to £215.
Martin described the rise as “cataclysmic” and warned that millions of people will simply not be able to afford the increase.
He also expressed concerns for the “mental health damage” facing millions in the UK as a direct result of the soaring energy bills.
He said: “What we’re facing here is a financial emergency that risks lives. I accept the point that Boris Johnson is running a zombie Government and can’t do much, but the two candidates - one of them will be our prime minister - they need to get together in the national interest to tell us the bare minimum of what they will do.
“If they can’t agree, and what we need to hear now, because the mental health damage for millions of people who are panicked about this is manifest, is we need to hear accurate plans.”
He added: “We have some relative detail from Rishi Sunak saying he will look at the handouts he gave in May and increase them, but, unless he’s doubling them, and he needs to double them, it is not in proportion to what he did back in May.”
Ofgem is set to confirm the October price cap at the end of August.
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