Energy price cap rise - why do household fuel bills in Scotland keep going up?

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Many Scots will despair at energy bills going up yet again from April 1.Ofgem’s price cap will rise by an average £111 per household per year between April and June, the third increase in a row.

It means for the typical household on a standard variable tariff, their annual bill will rise from £1,738 currently to £1,849 from April.Monthly, that works out at an average £9.25 extra per month.

But the cumulative impact of adding more than £100 to bills annually comes as inflation is rising and local authorities are imposing huge council tax hikes across Scotland.So why are energy bills going up again - and what can people do about it?Set by national energy regulator Ofgem, the price cap fixes a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use.The price cap indicates what a household using gas and electricity, and paying by direct debit, can expect to pay if their energy consumption is typical.These figures are for an average household, however - meaning homes which use higher-than-average amounts of energy will pay more, and those who use less will pay less.Ofgem sets the price cap every three months.Ofgem says a recent spike in wholesale gas prices was the main driver of the latest price rise, accounting for around 78 per cent of the total increase.

Low rates of gas storage and the cold weather since the turn of the year have contributed to high demand across Britain and Europe.The squeeze on gas supplies from Russia’s invasion on Ukraine has continued to have an impact - although the prospect of an ending to the war could bring prices down in future.Critics of the UK energy market say the cost of electricity should not be closely tied to