British households are likely to face yet another rise in energy prices later this year, an Ofgem boss has warned.
During a speech in Glasgow, Ofgem chief executive officer Jonathan Brearley said energy market prices remain "highly volatile" since the Russian invasion. "Prices fluctuated from nearly 16 times the average price last winter at its highest to around four times what we'd usually see. The market remains highly volatile and as a result we do expect further price increases later this year," he added.
It comes after independent energy market analyst Cornwall Insight shared its prediction that a typical UK household will face an annual energy bill rise of £600 from October, which would take a home's average gas and electricity bill to £2,595, The Mirror reports.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson urged to bring forward emergency Budget amid cost of living crisis
Mr Brearley also said that for some people, not being able to properly afford their energy bills was a matter of life and death, adding: "Many of you in the room know the impact the gas crisis has on the sector, but most importantly it is putting huge strain on the customers we serve.
"I talk to customers on a regular basis, and I know how tough rising energy prices are for many households and businesses. For some, not being able to afford rising energy bills is literally a matter of life and death."
Currently, households are facing soaring energy bills as well as forecasts of inflation hitting 10 per cent and benefits and wages failing to keep up with the increase in prices.
According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), around 1.5million households in the UK will struggle to pay food and energy bills due to a deepening cost-of-living crisis that is likely to plunge Britain into a recession. It also estimates many families will face food and energy bills that are much greater than their disposable income due to rising inflation from the war in Ukraine.
NIESR has urged the government to supply emergency support, as it says more than a quarter of a million British households will "slide into destitution" next year, and warns that unless immediate action is taken, the total number of Brits in extreme poverty will hit around one million.
The national institute said Chancellor Rishi Sunak should hike Universal Credit payments by £25 per week and give a one-off £250 cash payout to the UK's 11.3 million lower-income households. But the Prime Minister said the Government cannot "completely shield" people from the rising cost of living, as he came under fire for not using the Queen's Speech to promise more support.
In the Queen's Speech on Tuesday (May 10), Prime Minister Boris Johnson laid out plans for changes to create a "high-wage, high-skill" economy, claiming the government's programme would "build the foundations for decades of prosperity." He also said: "We will continue to use all our ingenuity and compassion for as long as it takes... The Chancellor and I will be saying more about this in the days to come."
However, the announcement has been met by criticism by charities, campaigners and opposition politicians over the lack of any short-term measures to help people faced with soaring costs in their day-to-day lives.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer branded the PM's response to cost of living demands as "pathetic", telling Boris Johnson "this government's failure to grow the economy over a decade, combined with its inertia in the face of spiralling bills, means that we are staring down the barrel of something we haven't seen in decades, a stagflation crisis."
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