Almost six million people face energy bill rises of up to 17 per cent, as one of the largest suppliers announces increases.
Npower, the fourth largest supplier in Britain declared that standard price tariffs would increase by double digits, with some reports stating the rises could be as high as 17 per cent.
This announcement comes at a vulnerable time for families as credit and store card bills from Christmas and the New Year start to arrive, stretching household budgets to their limits.
It also raises the prospect of fuel poverty for millions of pensioners and others already struggling against rising costs for food, petrol and other essentials, along with the property slowdown and tougher conditions in obtaining credit.
Tim Wolfenden, at energy website uSwitch says: “Once one of the suppliers makes this move it will give competitors the green light to go ahead with price increases of their own. This could rapidly turn into price-rise misery for consumers.”
Andrew Horstead, of energy consultancy Utilyx, said that rising wholesale gas prices had increased the pressure on power suppliers to lift prices.
Chiltern’s Joanne Gill says: “It’s a testing time for households, as the family budget is still recovering from the festive period and the recent rises to petrol and food costs.
“With families finding credit harder to come by, they may benefit from speaking to an impartial debt solutions company like Chiltern, as they can offer alternative options such as debt management, which can provide a short-term solution to debt stress.
“They may also benefit from switching supplier to find a more competitive tariff, which can often save hundreds of pounds.”
