Household energy bills will soar by £693 per year from the beginning of April, energy regulator Ofgem has confirmed.
The regulator was forced to hike the energy price cap to a record £1,971 for a typical household as gas prices soared to unprecedented highs.
The decision is likely to impact 22 million households across Great Britain and applies to those who are on their energy supplier’s default tariff.
“We know this rise will be extremely worrying for many people, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet, and Ofgem will ensure energy companies support their customers in any way they can,” said Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley.
“The energy market has faced a huge challenge due to the unprecedented increase in global gas prices, a once in a 30-year event, and Ofgem’s role as energy regulator is to ensure that, under the price cap, energy companies can only charge a fair price based on the true cost of supplying electricity and gas.”
The announcement was made shortly before Chancellor Rishi Sunak was set to announce help for households to deal with the massive spike in energy prices.
The Government has for weeks been assessing what it can do to help customers. Potential solutions have included loans to energy companies and cuts in VAT or levies on energy bills.
However, as late as Wednesday night, some of Britain’s biggest energy suppliers had not been told what the Chancellor would announce.
