Household energy prices set to remain high this winter as £221 rise takes effect

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Cornwall Insight’s forecast of a small fall in October offers little comfort. It is also entirely predicated on a fragile ceasefire with households remaining exposed to the volatility of fossil fuel prices, while the energy industry continues to profit.

“The price shock profiteers will try to tell you the answer is new North Sea licences. It is not: around 90 per cent of commercially viable North Sea gas has already been extracted, and what remains is sold at global market prices. The only credible path off the gas price rollercoaster is homegrown renewables, better energy efficiency for buildings and accessible heat pumps for every household, a reality with little recognition in Andy Burnham’s speech in Manchester yesterday.

“The Government cannot wait until September to act, and the next Prime Minister inherits that same urgency. If it is to be Andy Burnham’s vision of a rewired Britain, then the new PM must also rewire how energy bills are set, with a permanent social tariff, an end to energy debt and a credible plan to bring down electricity prices.”