On 27 February 2023, the energy regulator Ofgem cut its price cap by around £1,000 per year to £3,280, starting in April.  This will happen at the same time as the government raises its Energy Price Guarantee, which caps the cost of electricity and gas.   As things stand, the EPG is set to rise by 20% in April, pushing a typical household bill up from £2,500 to £3,000 per year. 

The result is that millions of people are both worried and angry that this will mean a 20% hike in their energy bills from April. 

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, estimates that these rises will result in the number of people unable to afford their bills doubling - increasing from one in 10 to one in five.  Families will struggle to heat their homes, with many being totally stressed and anxious that they won’t be able to pay their bills, buy food and deal with the continuing cost of living crisis.

This is totally immoral when energy companies are continuing to make record profits and the Ofgem price cap is forecast to drop further below the price guarantee in July, as wholesale energy costs fall.

In the face of this continuing injustice and unfairness, we are calling on the Chancellor to change course and demanding that he keeps the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500. 

The Chancellor should also use his Spring Budget on 15 March to do more to tackle energy prices, and also to tackle food inflation which stands at a record 17%, and to help the I in 4 families now struggling financially, with the cost of a typical annual shop now being £811 higher than last year (Kantar Data, February 2023).