Liz Truss has announced that households across the country with typical usage will pay no more than £2,500 a year for energy from the start of October until 2024. While the Energy Price Guarantee plan outlined by the new Prime Minister in parliament on Thursday will bring relief to most gas and electricity customers, commentators are warning that many are already having difficulty coping with rising bills.
Richard Lane, StepChange director of external affairs, said the relative relief that people will feel “can’t mask the fact that many people are already struggling at current prices”. He said: “Benefits should also be uprated this autumn to help address the wider cost-of-living pressures that are disproportionately affecting those on low incomes.”
Ofgem’s energy price cap had been due to rise from £1,971 to £3,549 a year from October 1, stretching budgets for some 24 million households on the standard tariff to the very limit of their financial resources.
