The chancellor,
Rishi Sunak, will have to do more to help struggling households with soaring energy bills, experts said on Friday, with the average annual gas and electricity bill poised to double inside a year to £2,600.
The average household dual fuel tariff jumped from £1,278 to £1,971 at midnight, as energy regulator raised the price cap by 54% on bills to reflect sky-high wholesale gas prices.
Analysts at Cornwall Insight, who predicted the £1,971 price cap within a 3% margin of error, said they now expect the next price cap increase, due in October, to result in the average tariff jumping to £2,599.92.
This would mean bills having doubled inside a year, it said, piling pressure on the chancellor to help the poorest households, who experts have warned face a choice between heating and eating.