Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Britain’s cost of living squeeze could tighten today when households if energy bills will rise again this spring. Ofgem, the energy regulator, is due to announce the latest price cap on the cost of a unit of energy at 7am, and analysts expect the cap to go up, due to recent increases in wholesale gas and electricity prices.
Consultancy Cornwall Insight have crunched the data, and estimate the quarterly cap will rise by 5%. That would increase the typical annual household energy bill about £85 to £1,823 per year – it’s currently £1,738 per year. The government is concerned about the risk of rising energy bills pushing up inflation.
Last week, a Whitehall source told the Guardian they expected bills in England, Scotland and Wales to increase by about £9 a month over the next three months in another challenge to government plans to tackle the cost of living. Thie prompted energy secretary Ed Miliband to write an urgent letter to Ofgem, saying the price rise means the energy regulator must move faster to protect consumers.
The energy price cap sets the maximum that a supplier can charge for a unit of energy (there’s no cap on how high a bill can go). 7am GMT: Energy regulator Ofgem announces UK energy price cap for April-June. 7am GMT: Final estimate of German GDP for Q4 2024.
9.45am and 2.30pm GMT: Parliament’s Science, Innovation and Technology Committee holds hearings into social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms. 10am GMT: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee questions South West Water and Yorkshire Water.
