New Ofgem cap means poorest homes to spend up to 47% of budget on energy

‘The rising energy price cap will have a disproportionate and devastating effect on poorer families,’ says personal finance expert. Illustration: Stephen Cheetham

Some of Britain’s poorest families will see as much as 47% of their entire household budget swallowed up by energy costs this autumn, figures produced for the Guardian show.

The calculations were done by investment platform Interactive Investor on Friday morning, moments after the new energy price cap announcement, and are based on figures from Ofgem and Office for National Statistics (ONS) family spending data.