All the energy firms including British Gas and Bulb increasing prices following the energy cap announcement
ENERGY bills are set to rise in April when the price cap increases by nearly £700.
The price cap affects energy bills for standard variable tariffs and will rise from £1,277 to £1,971.
The majority of households across the UK are now on default tariffs as they are cheaper than fixed deals, despite the rise.
Several energy companies have now confirmed that they will increase their standard tariff in line with the price cap from April 1.
That means you can expect your energy bill to rise soon if you're not on a fixed deal with these suppliers.
The cap means that suppliers can't charged more than a certain amount for the the KWh price of energy.
The £1,971 figure is what it works out as for the average dual fuel use and your bill could still be more or less depending on your energy usage.
Energy regulator Ofgem sets the cap based on wholesale energy costs, which have risen globally this winter.
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It said the the equivalent per unit level of the price cap to the nearest pence for a typical customer paying by direct debit will be 28p per kWh for electricity customers and 7p per kWh for gas customers.
If you're on a fixed deal your energy bill won't change, because you've locked in the price.
But you could find energy prices are higher when you come to the end of the term.
If you're on a standard variable tariff and your bill is going up but you're worried about the cost or falling behind on bills, there's help available.
You should ask your supplier in the first instance, as they can offer a range of help including hardship funds.
There are several government and local schemes that can also help you - you can check them all out in our guide.
If you're worried about paying bills, falling behind or are in debt, there are plenty of organisations where you can seek advice for free, including:
- - 0808 808 4000
- - 0800 138 1111
- - 0808 800 9060
British Gas
British Gas has confirmed prices will rise in line with the price cap in April.
The company said it understands it will be "difficult news" for households.
Customers will be contacted soon with details of how their bills will change.
A British Gas spokesperson said: “The rising cost of living, including the price of energy, is a major concern for UK consumers and we know many of our customers will be deeply worried about Ofgem’s price cap increase coming into effect on April 1.
"Since the start of the energy crisis, we’ve been working closely with Government and Ofgem to explore how best to shield customers from the global forces which are driving energy prices upwards.
"At British Gas we’re also providing help to those who need it most through the British Gas Energy Trust and our recently launched £2million Winter fund which is targeted to help our most financially vulnerable customers.”
Price capped tariffs offered by the supplier include:
- Standard Credit
- Standard PAYG
- Standard Variable
- Safeguard Credit
- PAYG Safeguardv2
- PAYG Safeguard
- FlexiPAYG Mar 2023
- Welcome to British Gas,
- The Peoples Tariff
- Welcome Together
Bulb
Bulb has confirmed that it will be putting up prices from April 1 for its pay monthly customers and pay as you go.
A Bulb spokesperson said: "Wholesale energy prices have quadrupled in the past year, so unfortunately we’ll be increasing our prices for customers on April 1.
"We know this is a worrying time for many people and so we’ll provide as much help as possible to our members, like financial support and help installing free home energy efficiency measures."
EDF
EDF has said it will increase prices in line with the price cap from April 1.
Philippe Commaret, managing director of customers at EDF said on Friday that the company wanted to be "fully transparent and give our customers as much notice as possible".
The supplier will also write to customers in the coming weeks to explain how their bill will be affected.
E.On
We've asked E.On if it's putting up prices and will update when we hear back.
Shell Energy
Shell Energy has said that it will be increasing the price in line with the cap to reflect the costs we're facing in buying and supplying the energy for customers.
This will affect those on a Shell Energy flexible tariff, which is a standard variable tariff, from April 1.
Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy said it is still processing the announcements but it will "do all we can to help people through this and will give plenty of notice of any changes and of ways we can help".
We've asked the company to confirm if prices will rise and will update this article when we hear back.
Octopus Energy's standard variable tariff which is price capped is the 'Flexible Octopus'.
Ovo Energy and SSE
Ovo Energy, which owns SSE, has confirmed that prices will change for some customers.
You'll be contacted before March 12 if your bills will be affected.
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The company said: "We’ll be able to start sending out new prices to our members who are affected towards the end of February – to let you know exactly how your bills will change.
"All members who are affected will have their new prices sent to them by March 12 2022."
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