Millions of consumers are set to feel the cold impact of a £700 annual increase in energy costs after the 54% energy price cap rise took effect today.
A predicted 18 million households are bracing for the chilling impact, as prices push the limits of consumer budgets beyond their margins in an already strained period.
The latest price cap is estimated to raise the average household energy bill to £1,971 per year, with an upcoming rise in October this year predicted to send prices spiking to £2,600.
Prepayment consumers are unfortunately set to face a higher price jump of £708, taking their average energy bill this year to approximately £2,017.
The news comes on the back of a 30-year record level of inflation, which is currently at 6.22% and set to peak at over 8% this winter.
The price of oil has also seen massive surges, as countries continue to cut off their supply of oil from the Russia since its invasion of neighbouring state Ukraine.
President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he would be releasing supplies from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which amounts to an estimated 180 million barrels of oil from the reserve’s stockpile of 568 million barrels.
The US has pledged to release around one million barrels of oil per day in a bid to curb the spiking prices on the back of Russia’s lost resources.
The announcement brought the price of oil plummeting down to $104 per barrel for Brent Crude, after reaching levels beyond $120 in March.
However, the news comes as more of a sticking plaster than an absolutely solution for the surging energy prices.
