London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Energy price cap rises: Households will be in 'deep peril' and older people will be 'badly shaken' by increase in bills, charities warn

Energy price cap rises: Households will be in 'deep peril' and older people will be 'badly shaken' by increase in bills, charities warn

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £9bn package following word from Ofgem, the energy regulator, that prices are set to soar by 54% for 22 million households from the beginning of April, adding £693 to the annual costs of a typical household.

Households will be left in "deep peril" and older people will be "badly shaken" by the rise in energy bills, charities have warned.

On Thursday, energy regulator Ofgem announced prices are set to soar by 54% for 22 million households from the beginning of April, adding £693 to the annual costs of a typical household.

Later in the day, Chancellor Rishi Sunnak announced a £9bn package, including a one-off repayable £200 discount and a £150 rebate on council tax bills, and £144m to councils to support vulnerable households amid the surging energy prices.

However, the government's plan has been met with criticism with one fuel poverty charity describing it as "woefully inadequate".

'We need deep, targeted support"


National Energy Action (NEA) said the increases will mean the cost of heating an average home will have doubled in 18 months while numbers in fuel poverty will soar from four million to 6.5 million households across the UK in just six.

"These energy crisis measures are woefully inadequate and will leave those on the lowest incomes and in the least efficient homes in deep peril, NEA chief executive Adam Scorer said.

"We needed deep, targeted support for the most vulnerable. We have shallow, broad measures for all. That simply does not work."

"The rebates on bills and council tax are not sufficiently targeted, too small, and too complex," he added.

"We expect the government will have no choice but to return to the issue of spiralling fuel poverty and another price rise later this year. By then they'll be playing catch-up and great harm will already have been done."

According to an analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, even after the deferral scheme for energy bills and the council tax discount are taken into account, families on low incomes will spend on average 16% of their incomes after housing costs on energy bills.

This compares to 5% for middle-income families.

"Already people are not spending money because they do not have money to spend," Newham resident, Naveem Choudry told Sky News.

"It has already affected businesses and plus energy bills going up, which has very badly affected business. People are already scared because they don't have no money, they have no future.

Rise in energy prices caused by China and 'colder than usual winter' - Sunak


After announcing the government's £9bn support package, Chancellor Rishi Sunak attributed the record rise of energy prices to China pushing up global prices and the UK's "colder than usual winter".

Writing in The Sun, he said: "One (factor) is the steep rise in demand for gas in places such as China, which has pushed up global prices.

"Another is the fact that we have had a colder than usual winter so we have used up more of our own stores of gas here at home.

'Help is targeted at those who need it most," said the chancellor


"There are no two ways about it: (the £693 annual increase per household on average) ... is a big hit for people to take and I don't underestimate it one bit."

He continued: "We made a difficult decision last year that in order to tackle the unacceptable backlogs caused by the pandemic, as well as to pay for vaccines and integrate our health and social care system, we would have to raise the money to do so.

"We can't borrow for wholesale reform and we were upfront about that from the beginning."

Mr Sunak continued to say the "help is targeted at those who need it most, while also providing some support for those in the squeezed middle".

'We are gonna have to start considering using food banks'


For low-income families with children, the measures announced by the government will mitigate just 36% of the increase in their bills on average in comparison to 59% for low-income single-adult households, analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found.

A 47-year-old mother said the rise in fuel prices may mean she and her family have to start using food banks.

Melanie, who lives with her partner and six-year-old daughter in Flintshire, told the PA news agency she is "absolutely horrified" by the 54% increase in the price cap.

"If things keep rising the way they are, we're going to be in a terrible predicament where yeah, we are gonna have to start considering using food banks," she said.

"We pride ourselves on every time we do a food shop, we buy at least one thing for the food bank - the tables are going to turn where we're having to possibly ask them for help after April."

'It is disgusting' - Age UK calls for more help


Meanwhile, Age UK has urged the government to urgently rethink their plan, warning older people on low and modest incomes are "bitterly disappointed".

"With average energy bills now set to rise by a whopping £693 per year - and almost certain to increase further in a few months' time - the support the chancellor has announced simply does not go far enough," Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said.

"It will still leave many of these pensioners facing energy costs surging by an extra several hundred pounds that they cannot afford to pay."

She added: "Tough and stoical though they typically are, many older people will be badly shaken by the news they are hearing today.

"There's no doubt it will lead to many more turning their heating down or off altogether because they will know these price surges and the chancellor's inadequate response signals a crisis in their personal finances, with no end apparently in sight."

One woman, 85-year-old Pauline Thorley, told Sky News: "I think it's disgusting... what can we do about it? Nothing."

Asked if the energy rise makes her worried about her own bills, she said: "It does, I'm on my own but I've still got the same heating as everybody else."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×