West Midlands charity say people already 'struggling' with energy costs ahead of start of new energy cap
The new Ofgem energy price cap comes into place from today (April 1)
A West Midlands charity says they're hearing more people are struggling with high energy costs as the new Ofgem energy price comes in from today (April 1).
The new Ofgem energy price cap which is set for the next three months sees bills increase to £1,849 per year for those on a standard variable tariff and paying by Direct Debit.
Ofgem say for a typical household, this will add £9.25 a month to their energy bills, an average of £111 a year, and is 9% (£159) per year higher than the price cap set for the same period in 2024, from April 1 to June 30 (£1,690).
Act on Energy are an energy advice charity working across Worcestershire, Coventry, Warwickshire and Birmingham, they say people are facing challenging times when it comes to their bills.
Chief executive Rachel Jones says this increase will impact people and as a charity they expect to see more people reaching out for support.
"We really can see that people are struggling with high energy costs at the moment," she said.
"What happens globally has a huge impact on air energy prices, particularly as we import huge amounts of gas, so it's really challenging.
"The number of phone calls we are getting annually is around 20,000 a year, which has doubled from before we had price caps and the cost of living crisis that we're sort of seeing, and they are continuing to grow."
Ofgem said back in February during the price cap announcement a rising global wholesale prices for energy are the main reason for the increase.
They also added the next price cap for July to September is expected to be published towards the end of May.