Energy bills to rise again as price cap hiked second time in three months

Average energy bills remain around £700-a-year higher than four years ago, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It’s the first winter for decades when not all pensioners will receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves took the decision to means-test the benefit for the first time, with some 10 million pensioners expected to miss out.

The payment is being restricted to only those claiming pension credit from this winter, with the aim of saving the public purse £1.5 billion a year.

Before the election, Sir Keir Starmer promised that energy bills will come down with the Government’s new national producer and investor, Great British Energy.

However, according to a new Opinium poll, four in five Britons are worried that energy prices will continue to rise over the next five years.

While three-quarters of the public are worried about the global insecurity of energy prices, the research for the Warm This Winter campaign found.

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “The public have seen first hand the impact of the energy bills crisis - driven by the UK’s reliance on volatile energy markets.

“Millions of people are living in cold damp homes, unable to heat their homes to a safe temperature or racking up massive debts - with some even turning to loan sharks.

“To add insult to injury, around a quarter of what is spent on heating our draughty properties is wasted, because the UK’s old housing stock is some of the worst insulated in Europe.

“2025 will be a momentous year for setting the future direction of energy policy with reforms to Ofgem itself, changes to standing charges and overhaul of electricity markets on the cards as well as the roll out of the Clean Power Plan.

“But the UK government needs to ensure that those suffering now are not abandoned. This means more support for households through a social tariff and delivering on its promise to help people to insulate their homes.”