KevinPeachey is a personal finance correspondent.

Woman looks at billsImage source, Getty Images

Ofgem will announce a new price cap on energy bills in October.

A household in England, Wales and Scotland using the same amount of gas and electricity each year will pay about £2,000.

It is predicted that the annual bill will go up to more than 3,500 dollars.

An announcement is expected from Ofgem.

Suppliers and charities have urged the government to improve support measures.

Some people will choose between heating and eating this winter because of the devastating effect of bill rises.

When the subsequent cap takes effect in January, a typical bill will peak at over £5,000, with a further increase in bills predicted.

There is a cap on how much domestic customers in England, Wales and Scotland pay for gas and electricity, and on how much they can be charged for being connected to the grid.

The price of gas and electricity is set by the Ofgem and will be changed in October. Most people are on default and standard tariffs. Prepayment meters have a separate cap.

The cap has been in place for six months but will be reviewed and changed every three months.

The annual bill for a household using a typical amount of energy is used to set the cap by Ofgem.

About 19 million households are on variable tariffs and about 4.5 million are on prepayment meters. If a household uses a lot of energy, it will pay more, if it uses less, it will pay less.

In the six months after the price cap went into effect, a typical household bill was over $1,000 a year, or over $1,200 for prepayments.

Bar chart showing how the price cap has risen, with the price cap forecast for January standing at £4,600

There is no cap on prices in Northern Ireland because there are not many suppliers. Many businesses face cost pressures that could be passed on to consumers in higher prices if a cap is not in place.

According to charities, the rise in the cap will put strain on low-income households.

The number of households in fuel poverty will rise as a result of October's increase, according to the charity. Fuel poverty is when a household spends 10% or more of its income on energy.

People who can't get to the end of the month without a food bank voucher are just one of the people Citizens Advice helps every day.

The soundtrack to winter will be the sound of emergency prepayment meter credit running out and the click of lights and appliances being turned off.

Marina Keohane said the thought of higher fuel bills brought tears to her eyes.

It's just something else to be afraid of how you're supposed to live. She said she was on nothing.

Marina Keohane
Image caption, Marina Keohane recently stopped working due to ill health

I only use the fridge freezer when I need it. I don't have a light on but I have a TV.

I'm afraid to cook in my cooker. If you put something in the oven it uses more energy, so I try to stick to ready meals in the microwave or do salads.

The government is giving a huge amount of money to UK households. There are two payments totalling £650 for eight million low income households on benefits.

Before a new prime minister is appointed, no new support will be offered.

Liz Truss, the current favourite to replace Boris Johnson, has promised to cut taxes and give financial help to hard-pressed households.

Her opponent, Rishi Sunak, has promised to reduce VAT on domestic energy bills from 5% to zero.

Labour wants the energy price cap to be frozen at its current level and paid for by increasing tax on oil and gas company profits.

Leading figures in the energy sector have called on the government to introduce an Energy Tariff Deficit Fund to spread out the cost for households over the course of a decade.

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