Energy expert predicts how much bills are going to fall by
Households are set to learn that their energy bills will fall to their lowest level in more than two years from the start of April.
Ofgem will announce its latest price cap on Friday, with energy consultancy Cornwall Insight predicting the regulator will lower it by around £293 a year.
That would see the typical household’s bill falling from £1,928 per year to £1,635 from April 1, a drop of around 15%.
Cornwall Insight’s forecast, which noted that the UK’s energy prices look to have weathered disruption in the Red Sea, is normally very close to Ofgem’s announcement, as both are based on publicly available data.
However, the firm warned that as long as the UK is reliant on fossil fuels it will have to continue importing expensive gas from countries which could decide to stop selling to Britain.
While the forecast from Cornwall is considerably lower than the current price cap, it is marginally higher than the £1,620 that the consultancy forecast just over a month ago.
Cornwall Insight principal consultant Dr Craig Lowrey said that despite the predicted fall, prices would remain a struggle for many and remained hundreds of pounds above pre-pandemic levels.
On Wednesday it was announced E.On and Tru Energy had been given permission to return to forcibly fitting prepayment meters (PPMs) after they were temporarily banned following a scandal around the practice.
Ofgem said the two firms had met its “strict” conditions, which include conducting internal audits to identify PPMs wrongfully installed before the February 2023 moratorium and offering compensation and a return to a non-prepayment payment method to any affected customers.
They follow EDF, Octopus and Scottish Power, who were granted the same permissions in January.
Once suppliers meet the conditions and restart “involuntary” PPM installations, they must also provide regular monitoring data to Ofgem to identify any concerning practices.
The firms must still make at least 10 attempts to contact a customer before a prepayment meter is installed and carry out a site welfare visit before proceeding.
They are not allowed to forcibly fit a PPM if the household is considered to include “highest risk” customers, including those which require a continuous energy supply for health reasons, have an older occupant aged 75 and over without support, or those with children under two years old.
Customers and consumer groups will be able to check energy suppliers that can install prepayment meters without a household’s permission on the Ofgem website.