Millions of households across London face growing financial pressure as annual price rises are rolled out in April. Energy and water bills, council tax, train fares, broadband, mobile, and even alcohol duties are set to increase on or around the first of that month, with billpayers urged to shop around for the best deals and investigate whether they are entitled to any discounts.
Charities have expressed serious concern about the price rises set for April 1, saying the hikes will exacerbate issues on already vulnerable populations. Responding to the latest Ofgem price cap announcement - which will see average energy bills go up by £111 - Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “We’re helping people every day who simply can’t afford this latest price hike.
“It comes as our research shows the number of people living in a household in debt to their energy supplier has reached a new high of nearly seven million. “We’re particularly concerned about households with children, where over one in three struggle to afford bills, rising to more than half of those on low incomes.”.
Households in two-thirds of London boroughs will pay in excess of £2,000 a year in council tax from April, according to research by The Standard. A total of 22 of the 33 boroughs will send out benchmark band D bills that surpass £2,000 - seven of them for the first time.
Total bills will range from almost £2,500 in Kingston, which will remain the capital’s most expensive borough for council tax, to just £990 in Wandsworth and just over £1,000 in Westminster. Across London, the average annual increase in band D bills will be about £90 - only because Wandsworth, Westminster and the City of London set such comparatively low bills.
This includes the £18.92 increase in the mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan’s “precept” that is levied on all borough bills. Energy bills for millions of households are set to go up by a bigger than expected 6.4% from 1 April, it was revealed on Tuesday.
It will add around £111 to the average household bill, or about £9.25 per month, increasing it to £1,849. The new cap covers the three month period to July when it will be set again. Ofgem set a limit every quarter on tariffs that energy suppliers can charge households on standard variable or default deals.
The new level of average bills is 9.4% or £159 higher than this time last year, but £531 lower than at the height of the energy crisis at the start of 2023, when the Energy Price Guarantee was in place. Sixteen million customers served by beleaguered Thames Water will see a 31% hike within weeks, with average annual bills soaring to £639.
That is an eye-watering £203 more than in 2024/25, and will deal a serious blow to households already struggling with the cost of living. Londoners have already started receiving emails telling them bills could rise by £19 a month. It comes as households in England and Wales will see an average £123 or 26% increase to their yearly water bill from April 1, the final figures show.
The Thames Water bill hike is nearly double the average across the country. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) said stronger and fairer support was urgently needed to protect struggling households from the largest rise in water bills since the privatisation of the water industry 36 years ago.
Tube and rail fares will rise by an average of 4.6% in March 2025, the Mayor of London previously announced. Daily caps will increase by between 40p and 70p depending on what zones are travelled through. Bus and tram fares have been frozen for the sixth time since 2016 and customers will continue to make unlimited journeys within an hour for just £1.75.
Sadiq Khan said the revenue from fare rises will be reinvested in TfL services. Sadiq Khan, said: “Following the Government’s budget, ministers made clear that to secure national funding for key transport projects in the future, TfL Tube and rail fares would need to increase in line with national rail fares.
“Vital national government funding will allow us to progress exciting future projects, such as Superloop 2 and more upgrades to the Tube network, as we continue building a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone.”. A number of Vodafone’s 18.3million customers will see prices increase in April to up to £36 annually.
It comes as part of the company’s annual mid-contract price rise, meaning prices will increase automatically for many customers. EE prices are increasing by 6.4% on average from March 31, 2025. This is due to a combination of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation and a 3.9% increase.
Mobile SIM Only plans and airtime plans will increase by £1.50 per month, while handset plans will increase by £4 per month and broadband plans will increase by £3 per month. Meanwhile, Sky has announced that starting from April 1, 2025, the prices of its TV and broadband packages will increase by an average of 6.2%.
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