Martin Lewis has urged the Chancellor to postpone plans to increase energy bills this spring, warning that it will have a "frightening" effect on struggling households.
The Government is set to increase its Energy Price Guarantee, which places a cap on household energy bills by limiting the amount suppliers can charge, from its current £2,500 a year for the average household to £3,000 a year from April 1. But the MoneySavingExpert founder has challenged the plans, saying that the Government has "significant headroom" to postpone the increase.
Martin explained on Twitter: "10 days ago I sent Chancellor Jeremy Hunt a letter asking him to postpone the Govt's 20% increase in energy bills on April 1. Since, SEVENTY major charities and the energy industry trade body have signed up to support the letter."
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He added: "Copying your local MP in isn't a bad idea either." Among the 70 charity organisations supporting calls to postpone the energy price hikes are Citizens Advice, the Big Issue Group, Age UK and the Family Fund.
Martin urges the Chancellor in his letter to "urgently consider" postponing the increase of the Energy Price Guarantee. He explains: "The decision to increase prices was made at a time when wholesale rates were looking to be far higher than they are now.
"In fact, on current predictions the EPG subsidy may well only be needed from April to July. After that, the underlying price cap currently looks like it may be cheaper than even the current EPG rate of £2,500 a year for a typical household."
Martin said that this means Government spending on the energy subsidy will be "billions less than expected" when the plans were first made, therefore giving "significant headroom" to allow the Chancellor to postpone the energy bills increase.
The finance expert warned: "Without intervention, and soon, the charity National Energy Action predicts that the number of fuel poor households will rise drastically from an already shocking 6.7 million to 8.4 million from April - approaching double the 4.5 million households in this position in October 2021. That is a frightening statistic."
The Energy Price Guarantee has saved a typical household around £900 this winter, according to the Government. In his Autumn Statement in November, Jeremy Hunt said that increasing the cap to £3,000 will still save households £500 a year on average, but the charities supporting Martin Lewis' message to the Chancellor have warned that this is not enough to help struggling families.
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