Brits have been warned that energy bills could hit £5,000 next year after Jeremy Hunt announced he will scale back Government help.
The new Chancellor confirmed the Energy Price Guarantee scheme will only run as a universal help for all households until April 2023.
After this point, the Government will target the support - although it has yet to confirm who exactly will receive it.
The Energy Price Guarantee came into effect on October 1 and was meant to last for two years, to protect households from hideous energy bill rises.
It means households now face extortionate gas and electricity hikes in the coming months, experts have warned.
Are you worried about rising energy bills? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
Cornwall Insight is forecasting that energy bills will hit £4,347 next spring, with analysts at RBC Capital Markets predicting a slightly higher figure of £4,684.
The worst-case prediction comes from Auxilione, which said the cap on energy bills could hit £5,000 next year.
The Energy Price Guarantee was confirmed as a replacement for the Ofgem energy price cap.
It hasn’t yet been confirmed if the Ofgem price cap will return in its previous form in April.
Experts including Martin Lewis have pointed out that any predictions at this stage should be taken with a pinch of salt, as they could change between now and next spring.
“These are very early day predictions,” the MoneySavingExpert founder tweeted last night.
“We are not even in the April cap assessment period (17/11 to 17/2) yet, so could change a lot.”
Much like the price cap, the Energy Price Guarantee isn't a total cap on your energy bill.
What the Energy Price Guarantee does is cap the unit rates you’re charged for gas and electricity, plus the standing charges.
This means if you use more energy, you could end up paying more than £2,500. Similarly, use less energy and your bill should be less.
It comes in addition to an automatic £400 energy bill discount that millions of households started to receive this month, paid out in six instalments to further reduce financial strain.
This help will still continue as planned, with a discount of £66 being reimbursed to Brits in October and November, then £67 in December through to March.
Are you worried about rising energy bills? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
