Hope needed amid energy cap rise - The Yorkshire Post says
Frustration and despair, once again, for bill payers as household energy prices are set to rise even further amid an everyday struggle to make ends meet.
Ofgem has announced it is raising its price cap to £1,862 per year for a typical dual fuel household, up £221 or 13 per cent on current levels.
It refers to the default tariff applied when a customer has not signed for a fixed-rate tariff, setting a maximum rate per unit and standing charge that can be billed to customers for their energy use.
Its take effect from July 1 or the three-month period to September 30, as customers will see a price increase of around five per cent on their electricity bills, while gas bills are rising by 24 per cent.
And in effect cancelling out, through no fault of her own, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s promise last year to cut the average household bill.
Ofgem said the increase was the result of higher wholesale gas prices, caused by the conflict in the Middle East. It follow’s Iran’s move to block the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is carried.
Everyday life in the UK, then, depends on the man in the White House making headway in his negotiations on a deal to end the war. A rudderless approach, or intransigence – real or performative – costs us all.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair thought it necessary to wade in this week, saying the Government should “remove those parts of the net-zero agenda which prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy”.
Except in these particular circumstances, there is no cheap energy. The price cap figure, of course, does not limit a home’s total bills because people still pay for the amount of energy they use.
Prices mays get even worse in October. What people need from those in power is a reason to believe that life will become less expensive.