22 February 2024 , 08:42
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Millions of households are expected to see their energy bills fall from April as a new lower Ofgem price cap comes into force.
Their predicted decrease would reduce energy bills to their lowest in over two years. Ofgem, the energy regulator, will announce its latest price cap on Friday. Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight predicts a decrease of around £272 a year. This means the average household's bill could fall from £1,928 per year to £1,656 from April 1, a drop of about 14%.
Cornwall Insight's forecast is usually very close to Ofgem's announcement as both use publicly available data. But they warn that as long as the UK relies on fossil fuels, it will have to keep buying expensive gas from countries that might decide to stop selling to us.
Even though Cornwall's forecast is much lower than the current price cap, it's slightly higher than the £1,620 they predicted just over a month ago. Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said that despite the predicted drop, prices would still be a struggle for many and remain hundreds of pounds above pre-pandemic levels.