The energy price cap will be announced today at 11am, revealing a huge bills hike for around 22 million households from the start of April.
Ofgem has brought forward the announcement of April's change by four days to today (Thursday February 3.)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under major pressure to announce help for people who are struggling with soaring energy bills and a cost of living crisis.
READ MORE: Levelling Up: What are the government's 12 'missions' to Level Up the UK?
There are reports that the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are considering a scheme that could could pay £200 rebates to households across the country.
Taxpayers would underwrite loans to private energy firms, which would then pass on the money to every household in Britain in the form of a rebate, according to The Times. Government sources would not confirm or deny the speculation.
But any help will not cancel out the huge expected rise in energy bills as wholesale gas prices soar across the world.
Experts have predicted the price cap on standard variable tariffs - which also ends up affecting fixed-rate tariffs down the line - could rise from £1,277 to around £2,000 per year.
Average energy bills could rise by £700 a year when the price cap is changed on April 1.
In the same week, National Insurance will rise from 12% to 13.25%, the student loans repayment threshold will freeze, and record inflation is set to hit grocery bills.
The Mirror revealed that overall, families could suffer a £2,000 a year average hit from the cost of living crisis gripping the nation.
British Retail Consortium figures show shop price inflation nearly doubled to 1.5% last month, the highest for almost a decade.
Grocery costs are rising even faster and to make matters worse, the Bank of England is expected hike interest rates tomorrow, with experts predicting it could soar from 0.25% to 0.5%.
Resolution Foundation think tank head Torsten Bell warned the crisis will be “catastrophic for low incomes households as we head into April”.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “These new figures drive home just how hard the cost of living crisis will hit people. Yet the Chancellor wants to whack up business and working people’s taxes.”
Two thirds of adults said their cost of living increased between December and January, an Office for National Statistics survey found. The ONS also said the poorest 10% of households typically have to spend 7% of their income on gas and electricity, showing the disproportionate impact soaring energy bills have on the poor.
Bank of England data revealed households took on more debt and put less into savings.
Families borrowed an additional £800million worth of consumer credit in December, up from 0.8% in November.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
