This is why your energy bill just went up – and why Government needs to act now

Looking further back, bills are now 79% higher than in winter 2020/21.

The biggest driver is the cost of gas, with unit rates up 28% on last quarter, meaning increased bills are a direct consequence of our over-reliance on gas for domestic heating and electricity generation.

The Government has said it will not finalise winter support until September. That may seem reasonable from a distance. But it ignores what is already happening.

This has left us over-exposed to shocks in international markets. Just as after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, history has repeated itself and prices have soared following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Those are the statistics. But behind every price increase are households whose direct debits are about to rise, families whose energy debt is harder to clear, and pensioners whose summer is already overshadowed by the winter ahead.

There is also the question of what comes next. Forecasts suggest the October price cap could remain at a similarly high level. If that happens, millions of households that are already in debt or struggling to keep warm will face an extremely difficult winter.

Energy firms will begin factoring higher winter costs into direct debit calculations now, meaning millions of households will feel the financial impact of winter long before the heating season begins. Any chance households had to pay down energy debts or build up reserves over the summer has been wiped out.

There is also a longer-term truth that some politicians appear willing to ignore: Relying so heavily on gas is a dead end as North Sea gas runs out due to the basin's ageing (which even industry figures admit). This geological reality means import dependence is rising, and every year we delay the transition to homegrown renewables, households face this exact kind of price shock.

Waiting until September to confirm support is not cautious. It is a summer of suspense that vulnerable households cannot afford.

And this summer will bring its own pressures. With the vast majority of existing homes at risk of overheating in extreme heat events, and the poorest neighbourhoods seven times more likely to be vulnerable, households will need to run fans and cooling equipment at exactly the point their bills are rising. The energy crisis is no longer just a winter problem.

Meanwhile, the energy industry has posted more than £3 billion in profits from UK operations in the first three months of 2026 alone. Across the sector, just a handful of energy companies have made more than £125 billion in UK profits since 2020. The argument that there is no money available to support households simply does not hold up.

The solution is not more drilling. It is accelerating the shift to clean electricity, reforming how energy is priced and ensuring lower-income households can access the technologies that will free them from the gas price rollercoaster for good.

The Government must confirm what support will be available before September. It must protect those outside the price cap, including households on heating oil and heat networks. And it must ramp up a credible long-term plan that ends, once and for all, our dependence on the volatile fossil fuel markets that have cost households dearly for so long.

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Simon Francis is the coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.

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