Energy

Close to two million households in Scotland will be given £150 to help cushion against the cost of living crisis. The money will be given to those in council tax bands A to D and those eligible for council tax reductions.

Energy regulator Ofgem has announced today that it will be reviewing whether to update the energy price cap more frequently in future as a result of the "unprecedented rise in wholesale market prices and volatility". This follows its decision yesterday to increase the price cap by 54% – adding a typical £700 a year to the bills of 22 million households from April.

Energy bills will rise by a typical £693/year for 22 million households in April, as regulator Ofgem confirmed the steepest ever increase to the new price cap level this morning. We've been warning this huge rise was coming due to record gas prices firms are paying, and unfortunately, due to the dire state of the market, most can't save by switching right now.

Households are to get up to £350 in cash to help with their energy bills this year, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced. The move comes after widespread pressure from campaigners, including MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, for the Government to step in to help households during the cost of living crisis. Here's what you need to know. 

Universal Credit claimants and those in receipt of certain means-tested benefits will get £200 towards their energy bills, the Northern Ireland Executive has announced. It comes as part of a new £55 million support package designed to help around 280,000 people with the cost of living. 

Hundreds of thousands of households could soon see their gas and electricity bills rise by up to 300% because they aren't protected by the energy watchdog's price cap, according to consultancy firm Ginger Energy, which has called on the regulator to act.

Many people whose old energy firm has gone bust are having direct debit payments taken by both their new and old firm. This shouldn't happen and is leaving many short of cash – so why is this happening and what can you do?

PayPoint has agreed to shake-up its services and donate £12.5 million to energy regulator Ofgem's redress fund, which largely supports vulnerable households, following a four-year investigation into market abuse. 

Ampoweruk, Bluegreen Energy, Omni Energy and Zebra Power, which have over 27,000 household customers between them, have become the latest energy providers to cease trading - 17 domestic suppliers have gone bust since September. If you're affected, your supply will continue and credit balances are protected. While it's likely you'll pay more now, there are no savings to be had by switching.

The energy price cap, which governs the maximum households can be charged per unit of gas and electricity, is to be reviewed as wholesale prices soar. Energy regulator Ofgem has today written an open letter to suppliers saying it will look at the methodology used to determine the price cap over the next few months.