Scots face 'winter of worry' over fuel bills despite drop in UK energy price cap

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots face a "winter of worry" when it comes to paying fuel bills despite a slight drop in wholesale prices.Energy regulator Ofgem said today the new cap on gas and electricity unit costs would reduce the average bill to £1,923 from October 1 from £2,074 per year.The average customer with a prepayment meter will see their bills fall to £1,949 per year.But households still face eye-watering costs that remain around 50 per cent higher than two years ago.The price cap was introduced by the Tory Government in January 2019 and sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales.Ofgem sets its cap every three months as the average amount paid by the typical household.David Hilferty of Citizens Advice Scotland warned households faced a "winter of worry"."Headlines around the price cap falling does not mean people are going to find it easier this winter, many people will face higher bills than last winter because support schemes have ended," he said."Meanwhile other households have had their financial resilience wiped out by 18 months of higher bills, costs and stagnant incomes."These price increases haven’t happened in a vacuum.

They have happened alongside higher costs for housing, fuel and the weekly shop and that has just ground people down."If the forecasts are accurate, households using the same amount of energy this winter will be paying around £160 per month.Consultancy firm Cornwall Insight currently believes the typical bill will rise again in January by around £150 a year.It does not expect energy prices to return to pre-Covid levels before the end of the decade at the earliest.Ed Miliband, Labour shadow energy secretary, said: "Higher energy bills are unfortunately here to