The average household’s energy bill might hit around £500 in January alone, experts have said as they released another gloomy forecast for consumers across the country. BFY Group, a utilities consultancy, said it expects the cap on bills to hit £3,850 between January and April next year – hundreds of pounds more than prior predictions.
The latest forecast comes after the Kremlin further strangled the flow of gas to Europe. While the UK gets very little of its gas directly from Russia, the price paid here is determined by what happens across the Continent.
“Following further rises in wholesale prices as flows of gas from Russia to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline drop to 20% of capacity, we now forecast the Ofgem price cap to rise to £3,420 in the fourth quarter of 2022 and £3,850 in the first quarter of 2023,” Dr Gemma Berwick, a senior consultant at BFY Group said. “This will make the average household bill over £500 for January alone.”
