Major change to energy bills as end date set for £2,500 freeze

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A MAJOR change has been made to the energy price guarantee, which will now only freeze energy bills for six months.

Energy bills will be frozen at £2,500 for the typical household until April, after which help will be more targeted.

The move would mean that energy bills could go uncapped for the majority of households

It comes as the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, will announce a number of mega mini-Budget u-turns today in a bid to calm markets.

The energy price guarantee scheme which rolled out in October 1, will only be in place until April.

While support will be targeted after that, it could mean millions will see their energy bills soar once the guarantee is up.

The Energy Price Guarantee is a cap just on what firms can charge customers for each unit of gas and electricity.

This means that your bill could be higher depending on how much energy you use – so if you use more, expect to pay more.

The Prime Minister’s plan saves the average household around £1,000 a year, and protects billpayers from further expected rises over the coming months.

Before the guarantee, bills were expected to soar this winter to over £3,500.

Instead, the most hard-up households will have the wholesale price of gas and electricity capped, while everyone else will no longer be protected from market prices.

This would mean that the prices for each unit of gas and electricity could fluctuate daily and lead to higher bills.

What energy bill help is coming?

From October the first, all households will start to receive a £400 energy bill discount.

The payment will be dished out by your energy supplier and will be split across six discounts between October and March next year.

Households will receive a £66 energy bill discount in October and November and a discount worth £67 in December, January, February and March.

In November, a £300 one-off “Pensioner Cost of Living Payment” will be paid out to eight million households.

It will be given to those who already get the winter fuel payment – which is worth between £100 and £300 for those over the state pension age.

Millions of households are in line to get the £150 Warm Home Discount between December and March 2023.