UK households have just 24 days to save up to £221 on their energy bills ahead of a looming price cap increase. Energy comparison site Uswitch warns that customers on standard variable tariffs will face an average annual rise of £221 when regulator Ofgem increases the energy price cap by 13% next month.
Fixed Deals Offer Savings
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch, said: "For the millions of households on standard tariffs, this is your warning that your energy rates are rising on 1 July - unless you act now. The price cap is going up, but your bills don't have to. There are 23 fixed deals available that are cheaper than the price cap, with savings on offer of up to £255. These deals might not be around for long, so take a few minutes to check online to see what deals are available to you."
Affected Suppliers
The new energy price cap affects customers of British Gas, EDF, EON, Ovo, and Octopus - the largest energy suppliers in the UK. These firms collectively serve millions of households who could benefit from switching to a fixed tariff.
Global Factors Driving Increase
Tim Jarvis, Ofgem’s interim chief executive, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the rise in the cap was "almost entirely driven" by the increase in global gas prices resulting from the Middle East conflict. "It is unfortunately now looking like a more long-term disruption to markets than we might originally have hoped," he said. "It is likely that we are going to see elevated prices this winter. We’re not at the moment seeing the sort of price rises that we saw following the Russia-Ukraine war, but it remains a very uncertain situation."
Political Response
Labour Party energy secretary Ed Miliband said it was essential to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East to bring oil and gas prices down. "The rise in the price cap because of a war we did not choose is deeply unwelcome news for households across the country. The way to get bills down for good and avoid these price spikes is to go further and faster with this government’s drive for clean homegrown power we control," he said.
