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Forecast Drop in Energy Bills This Winter is Cancelled

November 20, 2024

Households will wake up on Friday to the news that the predicted drop in energy prices this winter will not happen.

Millions of low-income and vulnerable households across Great Britain are set to face another winter with higher energy bills and a number of tough – and sometimes impossible – choices.

Energy regulator Ofgem is expected to announce tomorrow (Friday 22nd November) that the new price cap, which sets the maximum rate per unit that customers can be charged for energy, will increase by one per cent.

The new cap, which comes into force in January, is forecast to rise from £1,717 to £1,736 for the average dual fuel household paying by direct debit. Households prepaying for energy via prepayment meters will pay £1,688 a year, up from £1,669.

Fuel Bank Foundation, which provides crisis support and practical advice to people who can’t afford to top up their prepayment meter, said keeping the rate at a similar level will mean millions of households will continue to struggle to heat and power their homes this winter.

Matthew Cole, CEO of Fuel Bank Foundation, said:

This is the third consecutive winter that households will be put under financial strain from higher energy bills. Millions of vulnerable and low-income households, especially those who prepay for gas and electricity via a meter or use alternative fuels such as heating oil, will not have the money that’s needed to pay for energy. As a result, this winter they will be forced to live in cold, dark homes, unable to put the heating and lights on or cook a hot meal. Having experienced this in previous years, sadly for them it’s life as usual.

According to Fuel Bank Foundation, based on the new energy price cap, for households with a prepayment meter, the cost of keeping warm over winter will be £834, compared to 576 for the average direct debit customer – a difference of £258. Unlike direct debit customers, who can spread the cost of winter energy over the year, those who prepay have a stark choice: find the money to use the heating and energy they need or turn it off.

We estimate that more than a quarter of a million people will turn to us for emergency help this winter. Without our support they will be left to live in freezing homes.

Last winter, Fuel Bank Foundation provided crisis support to a record 331,042 people in the UK. At its peak, the charity helped 21,000 in a single week and was spending nearly
£1 million a week on fuel vouchers to help keep homes warm.

With energy prices set to remain high, Matthew Cole said the charity is bracing itself for another busy winter.

As part of our ‘Race to End Fuel Crisis’ campaign, for last two weeks I have been going around the UK visiting Fuel Bank partners and other support agencies to see the impact fuel poverty is having on people in different countries, town and cities. What’s clear is that across the UK families are really struggling and we need to use Friday’s price cap announcement to redouble our efforts to develop a long-term plan to end fuel crisis once and for all by addressing its root causes.

“The Government, Ofgem, the energy sector and industry bodies must work collaboratively to make energy more affordable for all, provide more financial support and better protection for people who prepay, especially those who use alternative fuels, and upgrade the UK’s housing stock so that everyone has a good quality home that is inexpensive to heat.”