Energy bills are set to remain high despite a cut in prices from July, experts have warned. A typical household will pay £2,074 a year for gas and electricity from July, £426 a year less than currently, after the regulator cut the energy price cap for England, Scotland and Wales.
Government help in recent months has limited bills to £2,500. However, prices are not expected to fall much further over the rest of the year, and could edge up in winter. MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis said that later on in 2023 bills would be similar to last winter because, although prices are cheaper, households will not get the same £400 discount from the government they previously received. People will still be paying double what they used to pay before the energy crisis hit,” he added.
Kate Mulvany, from energy analysis firm Cornwall Insight, also said further substantial falls in bills would be unlikely particularly if there was a cold winter across Europe with the UK competing to buy energy with other countries.
“Our forecasts suggest until the end of this decade, higher and more volatile prices are going to be seen, and that includes the impact they’re going to have on domestic bills unfortunately,” she told the BBC’s Today programme.
Earlier this week, Qatar’s energy minister warned the “worst is yet to come” for gas shortages in Europe, suggesting prices could rise again.
In an interview with Sky News, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was asked if he would take action to support households if energy bills started to rise again. He said the government’s actions over the past few months demonstrated that it was “willing to do what it takes”.
“We are very aware of the pressures that families are facing, and we want to do what we can to support them”, he said.There are hopes that the fall of the price cap below the government’s guaranteed level could lead to the return of competition in the market, with people able to shop around for the best deal.
But Mr Lewis said that he did not expect to see firms publicising new offers immediately, with energy firms instead offering existing customers bespoke offers, with no new deals across the market.
The boss of energy regulator Ofgem Jonathan Brearley urged people to contact their supplier if they were struggling to pay their bill.
“In the medium term, we’re unlikely to see prices return to the levels we saw before the energy crisis,” he added.
Michael Houghton says the Emmaus charity in Ipswich helped him apply for grants to pay his soaring energy bill last winter.
He says his gas bill rose to almost £30 per week, forcing him to cut down on food shopping and entertainment. But Mr Houghton says that prices remaining high is a concern in the long term. Without more support he worries he will not be able to afford to pay his energy bills if they remain at a similar price this coming winter.
Source: BBC
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