Ofgem, the energy regulator, has brought forward its announcement on the energy price cap to tomorrow, February 3.
The price cap is expected to rise by around 50 per cent, as record high wholesale prices continue to hit energy firms hard, and will come into effect from April. However, such a big hike in the space of just six months - the last hike, of 12 per cent or £139, was in October - is set to hit consumers hard in turn.
If Ofgem do raise the cap this time around by the expected 50 per cent, that will be a hike of approximately £730 to around £2,000 per year.
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The government is yet to put forward any proposals to protect consumers from such a big hike, though the Times is reporting today that the government will introduce state-backed loans to energy firms so they can give rebates to consumers, who will then be expected to pay those loans back over subsequent years.
Darren Jones, the Bristol North West MP who chairs the Commons' select committee on energy, said the plans would "still hit the lowest income families the most".
Labour has proposed cutting the VAT on energy bills to save people money. They say they would recoup that money by introducing a one-off windfall tax on gas and oil wholesalers, who have seen their profits rise dramatically thanks to the rising prices across the world.
The energy price cap was an idea first put forward by Labour under Ed Miliband in 2015 to help protect consumers from spikes in gas and electricity prices. David Cameron, then the prime minister, rubbished it as proof Miliband wanted to live in a "Marxist universe". Theresa May, Cameron's successor as prime minister and Tory leader, then adopted the idea in 2017.
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