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Energy bills set to hit £1,999 in January in the BIGGEST rise for four years, forecasters warn

From the Newshound archive · first published 30 September 2026.

Energy bills set to hit £1,999 in January in the BIGGEST rise for four years, forecasters warn
UK consumers ran up a record £2.5 billion on credit cards in August, even as mortgage approvals slumped to their lowest monthly total since December 2023.
UK consumers ran up a record £2.5 billion on credit cards in August, even as mortgage approvals slumped to their lowest monthly total since December 2023.

EDF chief Simone Rossi has said the UK is "walking into a second energy crisis" and called for the VAT cut on electricity to be extended. The warning comes from Cornwall Insight, whose forecasters say a typical household's annual energy bill will climb to £1,999 in January — a 16% jump that would be the sharpest in four years — as Middle East conflict squeezes gas supplies and leaves European storage at dangerously depleted levels. Ofgem's October price cap rise takes effect today, pushing bills up by £60 a year for more than four million homes on standard tariffs. Burnham's government scrapped VAT on electricity bills among its earliest measures, cutting costs by around £45 a year per household, but experts say that saving will be far outstripped by the increases ahead.

A January rise of this scale would arrive at the worst possible moment, hitting households still paying off Christmas debt during the coldest month of the year.

Diesel has already reached a record 199.33p a litre; Kent haulier David Zaccheo says his firm paid an extra £650,000 in fuel costs between March and August.

Moremsn.comEvery diesel driver pays a record £110 a tank, RAC says, with duty risingLBCMore than four million homes to see their energy bills rise as Ofgem price cap jumps by 4%BBC News - EnglandSoaring fuel costs force tough choices for South East businessesLBCOfgem energy price cap hike set to take effect on household billsBBC NewsHousehold energy bills forecast to see biggest rise in four yearsBBN TimesFTSE 100 Today: London’s Blue-Chip Index Drops to 10,636.71 as Oil Majors Slide and US Long Bond Yields Hit a 2002 High - BBN TimesReutersWhite House urges EU to draw down diesel inventories, sources sayEvening StandardChancellor John Healey ‘concerned’ as diesel prices in UK climb to record highGB NewsLabour pleads US to stop Donald Trump's diesel export ban hitting British​ motoristsLBCFTSE 100 falls as bond worries offset lower oilReutersFTSE 100 hits two-week low as energy stocks slide - ReutersShare TalkFTSE 100 Falls as US Bond Yields Hit 24-Year High - Share Talk
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