Analysts at Cornwall Insight say higher wholesale energy prices will drive bills up by £73 a year.
Image source, Getty ImagesAnnual energy bills for a typical household are expected to rise by £73 in January, a new forecast suggests.
Consultancy firm Cornwall Insight predicts bills could increase to £1,996 under the official price cap set by the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem.
The energy price cap limits how much suppliers can charge households for each unit of energy they use.
Cornwall analysts said a rise in January would be largely down to increases in wholesale energy prices.
The rise comes as millions are set to see energy bills fall from 1 October, when the next price cap comes into force.
From October a typical dual-fuel household will pay £1,923 a year until December, which is down from £2,074 in the previous three-month period. However, some government support, which helped with bills last winter, has been withdrawn.
January rise ‘not unexpected’
In its latest forecast for January, Cornwall said it expects bills to near £2,000 again.
Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at the group, said that while it was disappointing to see the trend in energy bills falling over the past year “stall”, it was “not wholly unexpected”.
“While the rise is small, it shows we cannot just assume prices will continue their fall and eventually reach pre-pandemic levels,” he said.
“Policies need to be put in place to deal with the possible situation that high energy prices have become the new normal.”
Last winter, the government shielded all households in England, Wales and Scotland from much higher bills with a £400 discount, but that scheme has now finished.
However, some groups who may struggle to pay bills are to receive additional help through cost-of-living payments.