Ofgem: “Inability to afford rising bills, a matter of life and death”

Jonathan Brearley has said further price increases will come later this year

Householders in England, Wales and Scotland will be most likely hit by further increases in their energy bills in October.

Ofgem Chief Executive Jonathan Brearley has said prices in the energy market remain “highly volatile”.

Delivering a speech at All-Energy 2022 conference in Glasgow, the boss of the energy regulator said: “The market remains highly volatile and as a result, we do expect further price increases later this year.

“I talk to customers on a regular basis, and I know how tough rising energy prices are for many households and businesses.

“For some, not being able to afford rising energy bills is literally a matter of life and death.”

Earlier this week. consultancy Cornwall Insight predicted that the Autumn default tariff cap would be around £2,600.

Mr Brearley said gas markets remain in a “febrile” state since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He added: “Prices fluctuated from nearly 16 times the average price last winter at its highest to around four times what we would usually see.”

Yesterday, National Grid announced it agreed to pass £200 million to customers under Ofgem’s interconnector cap and floor mechanism, ahead of schedule to help reduce energy bills sooner.

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