WARNING OF £7000 GAS BILLS AS NEW PM URGED TO ACT FAST

FAMILIES NEED ‘LIFELINE’ AS CAP LEAPS TO £3,549

- Nicholas Cecil and Jonathan Prynn

BRITAIN’S next Prime Minister will have to act “decisively and urgently” to protect millions of households from astronomical gas and electricity bills after a record jump in the price cap to £3,549, the energy regulator warned today.

Ofgem issued the plea after announcing that the energy cap, currently at £1,971, would jump by a staggering 80 per cent in October and braced the nation for it to spiral even higher. Independent forecasts say it could sky-rocket to nearly £5,400 in January or higher, and longer term predictions suggest it could even hit up to £7,200 in April.

Consumer champion Martin Lewis said the situation was a “genuine social and financial catastrophe that is putting lives at risk”, predicting another 51 per cent rise in January. He added that some high usage households could end up paying £10,000 a year. The cap, which affects some 24 million households, means the average yearly bill will go up to £3,549 in the autumn. The 4.5 million pre-payment meter customers, who are often the most vulnerable and already in fuel poverty, will see their average annual bill rise to £3,608.

The regulator laid the blame for the recent hikes firmly on Vladimir Putin’s “aggressive economic act” with his “slow and deliberate” cut in the flow of gas to Europe as he tries to weaken the West’s support for Kyiv.