Energy bills to rise in April...or will they? Support is being removed, the price cap is increasing but..

[cakeorwine]

www.theguardian.com/money/2023/feb/05/energy-prices-to-soar-again-as-jeremy-hunt-rejects-pleas-to-halt-rise

"Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has rejected calls to prevent sharp rises in domestic energy bills for all households in his March budget – meaning millions of users will see costs soar by about 40% from April.
Instead, Hunt will emphasise the extra support he is giving to the poorest and most vulnerable households, including those on benefits, in what he will describe as a more fairly targeted system of support.
Demands for the Treasury to halt a planned rise in the energy price guarantee (EPG) – the discounted cost of gas and electricity to consumers – from £2,500 to £3,000 a year for the average household in the March budget have been growing in recent weeks, particularly as the wholesale cost of energy has been falling."

So - the £400 support is being withdrawn
The price cap goes up to £3000

Which sounds like bad news - and it no doubt is.

OTOH - from April, people will tend to use less energy on heating, so the actual monthly amount in pounds they use will go down

And the price cap is predicted to fall over the summer to a level of £2240 in October 2023

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2023/january/wholesale-energy-price-drops-could-feed-into-real-prices-from-ju/

So the cost of energy in winter 2023 will still be about double in October 2021 (£1271)

Maybe we will start to see some actual deals coming on the market soon.

So what do people think? The energy price guarantee is going, energy costs will be high over summer but will fall towards winter 2023 when people use much more energy

For me, a significant part of my bills is heating - so hopefully, next year's heating bills will be lower than this years - but I am not sure what the impact of the loss of the £400 will be.

Really won't know until October - unless some fixed rate deals start to appear

I'm not that worried, bills are high already but aren't getting much worse and we won't be paying for heating from April to October. I should be getting the £900 alongside others who may struggle, my yearly predicted costs (at the current epg) are £1000, so will be £1200 under the new epg. I am hoping the cap will come down so I'm not paying more next winter but we will survive if it doesn't.

I'm not too worried either. I will not be increasing my direct debit no matter what the energy company says, I pay £100pm at the moment and there's no way I'll use that much over the spring and summer months even if the price increases. My heating is my biggest bill and I don't own a tumble dryer or anything that uses a lot of electricity.

My heating is my biggest bill and I don't own a tumble dryer or anything that uses a lot of electricity

My biggest user of electricity is going away to Uni in October....so that will help

For our household, April 2022 to April 2023
Energy bills £1000
Council tax rebate £150
Cost of living payment £650
Energy support scheme £400
Total £200 in profit (not really due to payments being for cost of living not just energy)

April 2023 to April 2024, if the cap doesn't come down below the epg
Energy bills £1200
Cost of living payment £900
Total £300 in debit (so we will be £500 a year worse off)

We have had the chance to switch mobile providers for a small saving, and will do the same with broadband when our contract is up. We have no other subscriptions, no TV licence.

Yes, it feels like we're through the worst of it anyway. Into February already and I've managed to reduce my gas use by about 30 over winter so far. I'll use no gas at all after the next 5 weeks or so.

Next winter is the worry now so fingers crossed prices will go back below the current rates.