COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

People should consider energy bill fix, regulator says



Ofgem is increasing the energy price cap by 6.4%, meaning a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will see their bill rise by £111 a year, or £9.25 a month, to £1,849.

The cap, which is set every three months and limits the amount suppliers can charge for each unit of energy, affects 22 million homes in England, Wales and Scotland.

The rise in April will hit people's finances at the same time as water and council tax increases, although average wages are also going up.

The regulator said rising wholesale costs and inflation were behind the latest energy price hike - the third consecutive increase in the quarterly cap and more than the 5% analysts had forecast.

While the cost of each unit of gas and electricity is capped, the total bill is not, so bills will vary depending on how much energy is used.

Standing charges - fixed fees to connect to a gas and electricity supply and vary by region - are rising again for gas but dropping for electricity. Some customers in London and the North Wales and Mersey region will see an overall increase of up to £20 a year.

Charities said the price increase would be a painful blow for billpayers.

Citizens Advice said its research suggested 6.7 million people in England, Wales and Scotland were in debt to their energy supplier. Official figures show nearly £4bn is owed.

"We're helping people every day who simply can't afford this latest price hike," said its chief executive, Dame Clare Moriarty.

The latest changes mean that in April:

• Gas prices will be capped at an average of 6.99p per kilowatt hour (kWh), and electricity at 27.03p per kWh - up from 6.34p and 24.86p respectively. A typical household uses 2,700 kWh of electricity a year, and 11,500 kWh of gas
  
  
• Households on pre-payment meters are paying slightly less than those on direct debit, with a typical annual bill of £1,803
  
  
• Those who pay their bills by cash or cheque are paying more, with a typical annual bill of £1,969
  
  
• Standing charges have dropped to 53.8p a day for electricity but risen to 32.67p a day for gas, compared with 60.97p and 31.65p respectively, although they vary by region

Acting shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said the price rise was "a betrayal to the families who Ed Miliband promised to save £300 on their bills".

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey repeated his demand for a reversal to cuts to the number of pensioners eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment.