Energy bills could rise even higher than previously feared, reaching nearly £5,500 in the spring, experts warned - as Tory favourite Liz Truss faces pressure to come clean on how she'll handle the crisis.
Forecasters said that if gas prices don't drop in the next few months, the energy price cap could hit £4,650 in January and £5,456 by April - a mammoth £104 a WEEK.
Energy consultancy Auxilione today issued the worst warning yet - warning that even when prices begin to fall next summer, they will still be thousands of pounds more than they are at the moment.
Ms Truss, who is widely tipped to take over as PM next month, yesterday branded Labour plans to freeze the energy cap until April "sticking plasters on the problem".
In response, rival Rishi Sunak's campaign branded her response to the unfolding catastrophe "clear as mud" as blue-on-blue infighting continues.
Lame duck Prime Minister Boris Johnson is currently sunning himself in Greece, and calls for him to sit down with the two contenders to hammer out an immediate plan have been thrown out.
Speaking to reporters at a whisky distillery in Elgin, Ms Truss said it was wrong to focus on "sticking plasters", continuing to insist her focus is on tax cuts.
But Mr Sunak's team hit back, with a campaign spokesman saying: “Truss’s plan to ease the cost of living squeeze for families and the most vulnerable is as clear as mud."
He added: "It’s not good enough to say wait until late September.
"Families need certainty now - bills are going to go up and wages have taken a hammer blow from rising inflation.
"Liz needs to come clean on her cost of living plans so pensioners and hard working families know now if they will lose out.”
The latest forecast predicts bills will not start falling until July next year, first to £4,811 and then to £4,446 - more than 2.2 times the current level
Labour this week announced plans to freeze the price cap at £1,971 until April - a policy a YouGov poll found 75% of Tory voters also agreed with.
Ms Truss has pledged to put forward an emergency budget if she takes office - but supporter Brandon Lewis this week admitted it could take weeks for this to get passed.
Today she said: "We're still in the leadership contest at the moment. Now, my priority is reducing taxes so people can keep more of their own money at the same time as making sure we boost energy supply.
"It is wrong to just keep sticking plasters on this problem. What we actually need to do is make sure we are unleashing more energy, for example, from the North Sea.
"We're investing in technologies like nuclear, and we're finding more renewable energy as well.
"We need to solve this problem for the long term."
