Next weekend, Britain will experience its first August bank holiday unencumbered by Covid for three years. Notting Hill carnival will explode on to the streets of west London, Manchester will host Pride celebrations and a vintage steam rally should charm the punters near Looe in Cornwall.
But a nasty prelude threatens to puncture the nation’s mood before the festivities kick off: Friday’s energy price cap announcement. The energy regulator Ofgem is poised to update the public on the new level for the cap, which will be implemented on 1 October. Annual bills are currently capped at £1,971 and this is forecast to hit £3,582 in the autumn, a prediction which has been raised several times since the record summer cap was introduced in April.
