Struggling families will see energy bills soar after price cap was raised

STRUGGLING families will see their energy bills soar after the price cap was raised to record levels for millions of households.

MPs, debt charities and experts slammed the move which comes ahead of a £20 cut in Universal Credit at the end of September.

Average energy prices for 11 million households will increase by £139 to £1,277 under the plans announced today by regulator Ofgem.

A further four million, often vulnerable, customers whose bills are governed by the prepayment meter cap will also have to shoulder a £153 rise to £1,309.

The latest increases come into effect in October.

The price cap, which is set twice a year, is intended to limit the rates suppliers can charge for their tariffs.

But wholesale costs have risen so fast as the world emerges from lockdown that the cap has been raised twice in six months.

Tory MP John Penrose said: “Horrible news for hard-pressed families. The energy price cap isn’t working and needs to be updated asap.”

Fellow MP Robert Halfon said: “Yet again working people are being hammered with the cost of living.”

Jane Tully, of charity the Money Advice Trust, said: “Increasing the energy price cap could not come at a worse time for the many households struggling to meet day-to-day costs.”

She added that it will be a “challenging winter” for many people, with more families set to fall into debt arrears.

The PM’s spokesman said: “As Ofgem set out, because of the rise in fossil fuel prices, they’ve had to increase the cost of the price cap.

“But the best way for consumers to keep energy bills down is to shop around for the cheapest tariffs and, to help, we plan to trial automatic switching for customers on expensive default tariffs to cheaper deals.”