Energy bills in Great Britain forecast to hit almost £2,000 a year this summer

Consumers brace for ‘awful April’ and Iran war cost hikes, which have pushed UK’s gas market past three-year highs Households in Great Britain could see their energy bills increase by about £290 a year to almost £2,000 from this summer in a “tough pill to swallow” for consumers already braced for a volley of “awful April” cost increases from Wednesday. A typical gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,929 a year from July under the industry regulator Ofgem’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. The forecast hike is nearly 18% higher than the £1,641 cap on energy bills set for April to June, adding £288 to a typical annual bill, after the Iran war pushed the UK’s gas market past three-year highs in recent weeks. The April price cap will be £117 a year, or 7%, lower than the January to March rate of £1,758, after the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, promised to lower bills by moving some green energy costs from bills into general taxation. But the short-lived reprieve from rising gas and electricity costs is expected to be more than offset by a string of rises facing households in the spring. The annual