- Energy price cap from October set at £1,923 – £150 less than the previous cap
- Households still stretched as £400 government pay outs unlikely to be repeated
- Supply still tight leading to concern the cap could rise again in January
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, comments on the latest Ofgem Energy Price Cap:
“Energy bills are coming down, they’re just not coming down by much. On top of that with government help unlikely to be repeated, most households won’t notice a great deal of difference this winter.
“Budget pressures over the last couple years mean that many people have cut their energy usage to the bone. Thermostats have been set permanently lower, draughts plugged up and habits altered forever.
“Those changes can only be made once so most households will struggle to find additional savings this winter, especially if we have a long, hard, cold one.
“Plus, there will be lots of households who are heading into the autumn with their accounts in deficit when normally they’d have been able to create a cushion over the summer.
“And longer term all the data and rhetoric suggests people will just have to get used to setting aside more for their energy costs.
“Global supply is so tight even the threat of strike action in Australia sent gas prices surging.
“By now many people had expected rival companies to have started offering tempting fixed deals, but changes made to the way those deals operate have dampened competition considerably.
“And not every energy user will find their bills falling because of quirks in the way the pricing structure works.
“Even the boss of energy watchdog Ofgem has said the crude cap isn’t fit for purpose and with interest rates still rising there will be plenty of pressure on the government to come up with a clear plan for the country’s energy conundrum.”
