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When will YOUR energy bill go up – and by how much? Support will be cut in April, but market prices are falling. This means what it means for what you pay
- Household energy bills will rise by £500 a year from 1 April
- The average home will soon pay £3,000 a year for gas and electricity
- The good news is that energy bills will start to fall from July – but not by much
The average UK household will see energy bills rise by around £500 to £3,000 a year in just two months.
More than 80 per cent of consumers’ energy bills are regulated by the Ofgem price cap, which is currently £4,279 per annum for homes with average use, with a variable rate energy deal paid for by direct debit.
However, since October 2022, the government pays part of our energy bill.
This is thanks to the Energy Price Guarantee, which determines how much consumers pay per year for gas and electricity.
At the moment these bills are capped at £2,500 per annum – again based on a medium level household.
But from April 1, two things go together that will cause energy bills to rise – although exactly what you pay will depend on how much energy you use and what kind of tariff you have.
Energy bills will rise for most households in April, before declining for the remainder of 2023
Firstly, Ofgem’s price limit will change. Analysts from Cornwall Insight predict this will drop to £3,338.07 a year for an average home.
That may seem like good news. But the second change is that the Energy Price Guarantee will increase, from £2,500 to £3,000 a year.
If Cornwall Insight is right – and the predictions are normally close – then that means a typical home’s energy bill will increase by £500 a year from April, from £2,500 to £3,000.
But the government will then take the bill at around £338.07 from each bill.
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How much will the utility bills be for the rest of this year?
Cornwall Insight forecasts the average household bill will be £3,000 a year from April to the end of June, then fall to £2,361.96 a year from July to the end of September.
It will then rise slightly to £2,389.91 a year from October to December, the firm of energy analysts says.
However, these predictions are just that and are subject to change.
| April to June | July to September | October to December |
|---|---|---|
| £3,000 | £2,361.96 | £2,389.31 |
| Source: Cornwall Insight/Government figures | ||
When will the energy bill return to normal?
Cornwall Insight experts say energy bills for the average household will not return to pre-2020 levels of less than £1,000 a year until 2030.
Meanwhile, Tony Jordan, Auxilione senior partner, said energy bills would not fall below £3,000 a year until around July 2024.
The government has said there will be no repeat of the current £400 per household energy bill rebate, which is paid in monthly installments and expires in March 2023.
However, this year there will be extra help for income-related benefits, disability benefits and the elderly.