Householders could be paying £235 more for energy this year, thanks to two increases in the Ofgem energy price cap
- Ofgem announces further £139 increase in price cap, to come into effect on October 1st, following an increase of £96 in April 2021
- Those on variable or default tariffs need to shop around now before cap deadline in October, says GoCompare Energy
GoCompare Energy is urging British householders to shop around for their energy supplier as a further energy cap change is announced today by Ofgem, meaning that some bill payers could see their annual energy costs increase by nearly £235 this year alone.
The new energy cap, which will come into force on October 1st, means that nearly half of UK households on a variable tariff could see their annual energy bills jump by £139.*
The energy price cap is determined by Ofgem, the energy market regulator, to ensure that consumers always pay a fair price for gas and electricity, and is reviewed every six months.
Today, Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap is being increased by £139 from October 1st, meaning that, for six months, the price cap will increase to £1,277 for default tariff customers. Pre-payment meter customers are also seeing their price cap increase by £153 from £1,156 to £1,309.
In April, the energy price cap was increased by £96 to pre-pandemic levels of £1,138 for default tariff customers.
Gareth Kloet, energy spokesperson for GoCompare Energy, said:
“These price increases were inevitable – as well as the wholesale cost of gas increasing by nearly 300% in the 12 months between April 20 and April 21, the UK also doesn’t have as much gas stores as it has had in previous years.
“And if you add into the mix that domestic debt is increasing as a knock-on effect of the pandemic, energy companies are having to raise their prices and prepare for a hard winter. The issue with this latest increase is that those who are already struggling to make ends meet are going to find themselves paying even more for energy, so the debt issues will just be
exacerbated.
“Energy bills aren’t the first thing on people’s minds when the sun is shining and the holiday season is underway, but now is the time to look at the tariff you are on and get onto a better deal. Homeowners can’t rely on the price cap as a way to make sure they’re not paying over the odds, the best way to save is to shop around and, if necessary, switch.
“Many customers might still be stuck on a variable tariff not knowing that a quick shop around could save them up to £302** a year on their energy bills. We are expecting to see providers increase their prices in line with the change in the price cap in the coming weeks, so now is the time to shop around and switch.”
For more information about switching energy go to https://www.gocompare.com/gas-and-electricity/.
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For further information please contact:
Lynsey Walden or Kath Chadwick at Gocompare on lynsey.walden@gocompare.com or kathryn.chadwick@gocompare.com.
Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare
Notes to editors:
*https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58106105
** Between 1 January to 31 March 2020 at least 51% of customers who provided their usage and received a price for switching both gas and electricity saved £302.30
About GoCompare
GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
It does not charge people to use its services and does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. GoCompare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. It is this approach to comparing products that secured the company an invitation to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) in 2008, and it is still the only comparison site to be a member of this organisation.
GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and works with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
GoCompare is part of Future Plc and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
More information can be found here www.gocompare.com or here https://www.futureplc.com/brands/.