9/8/22: Cornwall Insight: the typical domestic customer is likely to pay £3,582 a year from October, £4,266 from January, £4,426 from April. It expects bills to begin easing next summer, to £3,810 in the third quarter and then £3,781 in the final three months of next year.
Source: various online news articles
Oh how I am laughing [sarcasm alert] at that 'easing next summer', the amount still being merely 3.6 times the October 2020 figure!
OFGEM price cap period | headline cap amount |
October 2020 | £1,042 |
April 2021 | £1,138 |
October 2021 | £1,277 |
April 2022 | £1,971 |
October 2022 (predicted) | £3,582 |
January 2023 (predicted) | £4,266 |
April 2023 (predicted) | £4,426 |
July 2023 (predicted) | £3,810 |
October 2023 (predicted) | £3,781 |
@ainsworth74 : the cut-off was £12,000 in 2011 as I recall.
The news reports always refer to 'help for those on low incomes'. This is not quite correct, it actually applies to those on low incomes who have savings below the figures mentioned by Ainsworth74. If you have savings above £16,000 you are expected to use those first. Similarly if you are on a personal pension (or living off savings) but under state pension age you can whistle for help (beyond the standard £150 and £400). Remember lots of people have, essentially, been forcibly retired early from the public sector due to austerity since 2010. Yes, a 65 year old can go and get a job, the employment market is tight, any 65 year olds on here fancy running round picking orders in a fulfillment warehouse 12 hours per day?
It's fair enough to say that those without savings should be assisted ahead of those that have savings, but consider this. The savings that people have may well be needed to pay for future large expenses on their home (windows, roof, bathroom, replumbing, rewiring etc), it is public policy to keep people living independently as long as possible. Handing over to your energy company £3,000 or so per year now means that money is no longer available for those expenses. A future of old people living in rotting, unsafe houses beckons. Then there are future ill-health related costs (taxis needed to hospitals poorly served by public transport) for tests, out-patients and the like. Finally the money could have gone towards nursing home costs. A financial timebomb for the future.
And what is this extra paying for? The gas being pumped out of the ground today in reality could cost the same as it did 12 months ago, with just an inflation based increase for actual production costs. Someone, somewhere is making a very large amount of money on the back of this situation.