Tonight on the Martin Lewis Money Show live special, money expert Martin Lewis highlighted that the energy price cap is increasing by an eye watering 42% in October. Energy regulator Ofgem broke the news today and it means households across the nation could be looking at paying around £2,800.
The CEO Jonathan Brearley said in a statement earlier today "I will be writing to the chancellor to give him our latest estimates of the price cap uplift," before adding that "“This is uncertain - we are only part-way through the price cap window - but we are expecting a price cap in October in the region of £2,800."
Lewis opened tonight's show with what sounded like disbelief, the 50-year-old said: "We have Ofgem estimating a 42% price hike. It feels like a pantomime. I wish it was"
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It wasn't long before he gave viewers his very latest advice on energy bills. The expert spoke to a vulnerable older man who is seeing his monthly direct debit rise by more than 3.5 times, from £46 to £146 a month.
Lewis thought the three and a half 'sounds extreme' and it shouldn't be over two and a half times if you were on a very cheap fix. He told the audience "If you were coming off a cheap fix and you're in credit then it shouldn't be going up by anything like that. Around 54%, even 60-70% is fine but we have surveyed 40,000 people and for some it was going up by over double. It shouldn't happen,"
"You have a right to a fair direct debit. Talk to your energy supplier, be polite to the people in the call centre but do get them to justify why they're putting it up and ask them to bring it down." Lewis added.
Another key question Lewis was asked during the programme was whether they should fix their current rate or go onto the price cap-guided tariffs. He said: "It's worth doing if you can find a fix that is no more than 17% higher than the rates you're currently paying on the price cap."
