Millions of households are set to be affected as the energy price cap is hiked to over 80 per cent to £3,549.
Ofgem has confirmed the 80.06 per cent rise in the energy price cap, sending the average household's yearly bill from £1,971 to £3,549 from October. Coming into effect in Scotland on energy default tariffs on October 1, the cap will then remain in place until December 31, when it will be adjusted again.
Ofgem's chief executive Jonathan Brearley warned of the hardship energy prices will cause this winter and urged the incoming Prime Minister and new Cabinet "to provide an additional and urgent response to continued surging energy prices".
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The regulator said the increase reflected the continued rise in global wholesale gas prices, which began to surge as the world unlocked from the Covid pandemic, and had been driven still higher to record levels by Russia slowly switching off gas supplies to Europe.
Mr Brearley said: "We know the massive impact this price cap increase will have on households across Britain and the difficult decisions consumers will now have to make. I talk to customers regularly and I know that today's news will be very worrying for many.
"The price of energy has reached record levels driven by an aggressive economic act by the Russian state. They have slowly and deliberately turned off the gas supplies to Europe causing harm to our households, businesses and wider economy. Ofgem has no choice but to reflect these cost increases in the price cap.
"The Government support package is delivering help right now, but it's clear the new Prime Minister will need to act further to tackle the impact of the price rises that are coming in October and next year.
"We are working with ministers, consumer groups and industry on a set of options for the incoming Prime Minister that will require urgent action. The response will need to match the scale of the crisis we have before us. With the right support in place and with regulator, Government, industry and consumers working together, we can find a way through this."
Speaking on the rise this morning, Martin Lewis described the news as "catastrophic", and urged that something must be done urgently.
Mr Lewis on the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning said: "I've been accused of catastrophising.
"The reason I’ve been catastrophising is because this is a catastrophe.
"It's staggering we've allowed this announcement to be made…and still no help has been announced. It’s catastrophic.
"It's not good Government, it's not good politics."
Fuel poverty charities immediately called on the Government to urgently extend the household support package announced in May - when the price cap was predicted to reach around £2,800 in October - "to prevent the bleakest of winters".
Adam Scorer, chief executive of fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, said: "The scale of harm caused by these price rises needs to sink in. A warm home this winter will be pipe dream for millions as they are priced out of a decent and healthy quality of life.
"Households need money in their pockets to weather this storm or we are going to see millions in dangerously cold homes, suffering in misery with unimaginable debt and ill health.
"Action is needed now to prevent the bleakest of winters."
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