Money experts have reacted to news that the typical energy bill for households will be capped at £2,500 from this October.
In a speech at the House of Commons this afternoon, Liz Truss confirmed she will cap the typical household energy bill at £2,500.
The new “Energy Price Guarantee” is replacing the Ofgem price cap for two years.
Like the price cap, it will set a limit on how much suppliers can charge customers per unit of gas and electricity - so it isn’t actually an exact figure on how much you’ll pay.
Brits are being protected from hideous bill increases, as the price cap was due to hit £3,549 in October.
Do you think the new energy announcement will make a huge difference to your bills? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@miror.co.uk
But the new figure is still marginally higher than the current £1,971 price cap - with many households struggling to pay their bills as it is.
So does the new support from the Government go far enough? We asked the experts…
Lynn Beattie - Mrs Mummypenny
Lynn said: "This is not enough. £175 per month for the average three-bed, four-person household is a lot of money.
"This is one of the largest bills that we will pay, after rent/mortgage, food, then comes energy.
"Already hundreds of thousands of people have energy bill arrears.
"We have £300,000 people on prepayment meters having arrears clawed back automatically from their top ups at alarming rates.
"Debt levels are rising, and the mental health crisis spirals deeper and deeper.
"The Government needs to do more. What about reducing some of the huge profits that renewable energy and oil companies are making?"
Andy Webb - Be Clever With Your Cash
Andy said: "Even with the price freeze average bills are still going to be double what they were a year ago. And they’re going to stay high.
"So people will still need to find extra cash, and that’s going to be particularly hard for people on low incomes.
"We need to ensure the Government doesn’t treat this as 'job done' and support is provided for those that really need it."
Sarah Coles - Hargreaves Lansdown
Sarah said: "If you’ve been able to stay on top of your bills so far, then this will be welcome news, because the energy price cap freeze will protect you from the horrible hike we were expecting this winter.
"Your bills will rise, but this will be largely offset by the extra help from the £400 payments going into your energy account this winter.
"Of course, these payments aren’t going to last forever, and if higher energy prices persist, once they dry up, we’ll be landed with the full force of the higher price cap.
"If you’re one of the millions of people who are already struggling with their bills, the freeze will come as no comfort at all.
"Already 45% of us say paying our energy bills is either somewhat difficult or very difficult, and it’s not going to get any easier during the winter, when our energy needs spike.
"We were hoping to hear of comprehensive support for the most vulnerable, that would protect those facing a financial crisis this winter, so the fact there was nothing new was a major disappointment."
