People in Teesside still in debt paying off last year's energy bills
The new price cap for October to December is being announced today
We are hearing how people in Teesside are still in debt paying off last year's energy bills.
It comes as experts are predicting a rise by about 9 percent when regulator Ofgem confirm the new price cap for October to December this morning.
A survey by Citizens Advice say one in four people could be forced to turn off their heating and hot water this winter.
Rhys Stephens, the money advice manager at the Stockton branch of the charity, said: "Normally you'd get yourself into a little bit of debt over the winter and then you end up in a credit about this time ready for the winter. What we're seeing now is certainly people who are struggling to catch up in the summer months, when the costs are lower just because they're not having their gas and electric on so much, so this is the problem I think with a lot of people is that they're going into the winter already in debt and that unfortunately for a lot of people gets higher over the winter.
"I think it's never too early to start looking at it. What I would say to people is to come and get advice now before the winter really hits, then we can have a look at your income and your expenditure to see if there is anything else that you're entitled to, to see if there are any areas of savings we can make and then we're really as prepared as can be for the higher costs in the winter.
"From our point of view what we'd be looking at is making sure as many people as possible were entitled to that extra support through like the winter fuel payment, so we'd be kind of encouraging people to come forward now, get some advice, make sure that if they are eligible that they have their benefit claims in now and then they should automatically get that payment during the winter.
"We've got a real mix of people that we support and obviously Stockton's quite a diverse demographic so we do have people really struggling. We've got people who aren't used to struggling as I suppose, so we've got people where the cost of living crisis has kind of pushed them into the red if you like and they're struggling now to keep up with their bills.
"We do have a number of projects that focusses on specific people; so we have some projects that help specifically older people, we've got a project that helps people with school-aged children, so I would say really it's affecting everybody. Some people it's affecting more than others and obviously some people are more vulnerable, so the elderly and people with school-aged children, they're the kind of demographics that are particularly harder hit."
Citizens Advice survey
Up to a quarter of the UK population believe they could be forced to turn off their heating and hot water this winter due to an expected rise in household energy bills, research suggests.
The proportion who said they will need to take such drastic action increased to 31% for households with children and 39% for people on a low income, a survey by Citizens Advice found.
The charity, which is still supporting record numbers of people with energy debt despite lower costs in the summer months, said households "will continue to face impossible choices and drastic cutbacks to be able to heat their homes" without urgent Government intervention.
Overall, the survey found that 48% of respondents said they would have to turn down or turn off their heating or water if the energy price cap rises by the 9% predicted by experts.
A third of households surveyed said they would have difficulty affording food and other daily essentials such as mortgages, rent and childcare, while 7% said they would be forced to skip meals.
Citizens Advice said 7% of households currently remain in debt to their energy supplier. The proportion rises to 14% for households with children despite a slight reduction in bills since last year.
The charity added that the incomes of about five million people are exceeded by their essential monthly outgoings, with the expected price cap increase set to pull a further 187,000 people into a negative budget.
Citizens Advice said the Government must "act fast" to prevent millions of households from experiencing further hardship this winter, with those in "desperate need" unable to wait for Labour's long-term goal of reducing costs through a greater focus on renewables.
The charity said reforms to ensure support for families with children and disabled people through the current Warm Homes Discount better reflects actual energy needs would ease immediate pressures.
The process currently provides a one-off £150 payment for people on low incomes and pensions.
The expected rise in bills comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the winter fuel allowance would no longer be universal, and only pensioners on means-tested benefits would qualify for it this winter.
Ministers have launched a campaign to urge those who still qualify to secure winter fuel payments as Government plans are expected to strip away the energy benefit from millions of elderly people.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said the charity is "bracing" itself for a "challenging winter".
She added: "The price cap increase will see a wave of households tipped into debt, bill payers forced to make impossible decisions to make ends meet, and families worried about the impact the cold will have on their loved ones.
"Energy prices might be down from the peak of the crisis, but with many already in the red and the removal of previous support packages, there's still no light at the end of the tunnel for those in desperate need.
"The Government has inherited a huge challenge, so there must be no delay in their action.
"We need to see targeted bill support that reflects the realities of people's energy needs."
Experts prediction on winter energy bills
Energy consultants Cornwall Insight said it expects the typical household's energy bill to rise to £1,714 a year, up from £1,568 currently, on October 1.
The regulator sets the price limit based on several factors including wholesale energy prices - the amount energy firms pay for gas and electricity before supplying it to households. It is updated every three months.
It means households could be going into the colder months facing higher bills than they have had from April this year, when the price cap was lowered.
Nevertheless, average bills remain considerably lower than during the peak of the energy crisis, which was fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, driving up costs in an already-turbulent energy market.
The expected £1,714 a year would be £120 less than the price cap in October last year, when it was £1,834.
Cornwall Insight also said there is likely to be a further "modest" increase in January 2025, with more rises possible early in the new year due to escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The price cap sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use.
It means it does not limit a households's total bills, because people still pay for the total amount of energy that they use.
The figures provided by Ofgem indicate what a household using gas and electricity, and paying by direct debit, can expect to pay if their energy use is typical.
Jess Ralston, head of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said bills in winter will be about 50% higher than they were pre-crisis on average.
"A lack of progress on energy efficiency and heat pumps means that our reliance on gas hasn't fallen much in recent years, despite the volatility in the international markets forcing bills to skyrocket," she said.
"With the removal of the winter fuel payment for some pensioners at the same time as bills going up, it's likely that some will struggle and it remains to be seen if the Government will bring in measures to support those worst hit by the removal of winter fuel payment."
The new Government decided to stop winter fuel payments for those who are not in receipt of pension credits or other means tested benefits.
Previously, the payments of up to £300 had been available to everyone above state pension age.
The Treasury said the changes would see the number of pensioners receiving the payments fall from 11.4 million to 1.5 million - so just under 10 million would miss out.