Ofgem, the energy regulator, will announce the new price cap on Friday, August 26 and industry analysts are predicting it to be nearly £1,800 higher than the current one of £1,971. Auxilione’s latest figures suggest that the price cap will rise to nearly £3,600 from October 1, putting even more pressure on already stretched household budgets to keep on top of gas and electricity bills.
It is a forecast that will pile pressure on the UK Government to take faster action, but unless Parliament is recalled early from summer recess, nothing will be put in place until September 5 when the country will have a new prime minister. The observation window - when regulator Ofgem tracks the market to decide what the cap will be - closed last Thursday, so the prediction should be fairly accurate.
Auxilione said its final prediction is that Ofgem will set the cap at £3,576 per year for the average household on a standard tariff. They also believe the price cap will hit £4,704 next January and a stomach-churning £5,856 in April.
