Householders are set to be hit with rising energy costs from this week after Ofgem confirmed an energy price cap increase from April 1.
On Friday, energy regulator Ofgem will hike its energy price cap by 54%. The energy price cap, which limits the rates a supplier can charge for each unit of gas and electricity you use, will jump by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971. Prepayment customers will be worse hit, with a jump of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017, and that's without the possibility of further hikes, with wholesale gas prices increasing regularly.
Customers at three of the major energy companies have revealed how their bills have increased and what they plan to do to help keep bills down.
Read more: Why you should take a meter reading before April 1
Shell
As soon as I logged into the Shell Energy app, I was faced with dire warnings that we should increase our direct debit to £409 a month to ensure we covered the rising prices.
Shell's latest email tells me that from April we'll be moving to a Flexible 7 tariff, which will see electricity go from 20.871p to 29.239p per kWh with a 37.92p standing charge (up 13p a day) while gas goes from 4.055p to 7.344p per kWH with the gas standing charge from 26.11p to 27.22p.
A Shell Energy spokesperson told me: "Many families are worried about what rising energy prices will mean for their finances, particularly when the prices of so many other goods and services are also increasing.
"We would urge any customers that are struggling, to get in touch with us. We have a dedicated payment advice team on hand who can put in place supportive measures including payment holidays and reduced payment amounts, and we will help ensure that customers are receiving all the support available to them."
This month's bill is £263.21 and that is basically with me being hyper vigilant. I work from home five days a week and now only take off the jumper I got for Christmas for video calls. We've abandoned the idea of buying a new tumble drier, instead embracing the Aldi heated airer that's £100 cheaper than Lakeland's one.
I am following my children round the house switching lights off. The heating is down to 18.5 degrees and all doors to non essential rooms are closed, especially the kitchen which, for reasons I can't quite understand, turns into an ice box in an evening.
Eon
In February, a colleague's bill shot back up to £72 for both gas and electricity, but she felt okay to pay that as it wasn't the most expensive bill she had had from them. However, the new tariff will change dramatically if she choose to stay with E.ON and a £44 bill seems like a distant memory now.
This week, my friend received the dreaded email: "Thanks for being with us. Your tariff's ending soon and we'd like to help you choose your next deal. We've shown our cheapest offer below, but visit our website to check out all of your tariff choices. They might have changed since we sent this."
According to the figures, she would be paying an extra £83.29 a month, and an excruciating £999.42 more a year. That's a combined 123.5% increase on her monthly bill.
n the coming weeks we are going to look at energy switching sites like Energyhelpline and TheEnergyshop to see if we can get a better deal. If not, we will then speak to E.ON to see what can be done, if anything, about lowering our costs.
I think it's best to avoid panic, which is easier said than done, but it's better waiting rather than jumping into a contract you'll regret. We are going to wait until the very latest we possibly can before making a big decision, because next week, deals could change, it's really hard to predict right now.
British Gas
British Gas has revealed that based on a typical household, credit customers will pay £693 (excluding VAT) more on their annual energy bill, which will work out at £58 per month. This figure is only an average, some customers may be quoted a higher figure based on their current usage, tariff and location.
Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 (excluding VAT) per year, or £59 per month. As mentioned above, price increases will be different for each household and vary depending on the amount of energy you use and how you pay.
British Gas is offering extra help to customers who are struggling in the light of the fuel cap increase. The energy provider have said they've invested £2 million into funding grants to help keep vulnerable customers keep warm in December 2021, which they say they have now added a further £2 million to.
