Ofgem has confirmed that the energy price cap will go up from £1,971 to £3,549 from 1 October, with a further price rise set for January. This means customers on variable contracts will see a rise of up to £1,578 a year.

A J Bell head of personal finance Laura Suter said: ‘There’s no doubt that for many households a bleak winter is ahead – particularly with another price hike on the horizon in January after the regulator pushed ahead with its controversial reformed price cap. Many households can’t afford energy bills at their current level, let alone bills that are thousands of pounds a year more.

‘With average annual energy bills at £3,549 that means energy costs are well over a third of the annual state pension of £9,628. Even pensioners getting the full government support available to them of £1,500, are still facing paying more than £2,000 for their energy bills, which many simply won’t be able to afford.’ 

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