UK energy bills come down but set to bounce back up

Consumers in England, Scotland, and Wales started paying less for their energy from Monday after energy regulator Ofgem's new price cap came into effect — but they were advised to enjoy the savings while they last because costs are expected to rise again in the fall.

The price cap is reviewed every three months and the latest level means the typical yearly household energy bill is expected to be reduced by 122 pounds ($154), bringing typical annual bills down to 1,568 pounds, which would be the lowest figure in two years.

However, leading consultancy Cornwall Insight said that the figure is likely to rise 10 percent from what it is now in October, taking the 12-month total to 1,723 pounds.

The price cut comes at a time of year when, because of the milder weather and longer hours of daylight, people are less likely to use energy and, according to fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, or NEA, around 5.6 million UK households will remain in fuel poverty during the summer, despite the lower prices.

Adam Scorer, the NEA's chief executive, told The Guardian newspaper: "Any drop in energy bills is welcome, but modest falls in summer look set to be wiped out by bigger rises in (the fall) when people will need to put the heating back on. The cost of energy remains an unaffordable luxury that many of the poorest simply cannot afford."

Simon Cran-McGreehin, head of analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, told Sky News the country's dependence on energy imports highlights the importance of investing in new technologies, for both economic and security reasons.

"The United Kingdom's high dependence on gas for electricity generation and heating has cost bill payers 2,000 pounds so far during the gas crisis, and the economy as a whole tens of billions of pounds," he said. "Common sense measures like investing in insulating the poorest homes, switching to electric heat pumps and fast-tracking British renewables will leave us less vulnerable to the whims of the international gas markets.

"The math is clear, when it comes to energy independence, new drilling licenses are a side show making a marginal difference compared to the immense quantity of homegrown energy that off shore wind and other renewables can generate."

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, echoed his concerns, telling the Daily Mail that "sluggish" progress on making homes more fuel-efficient was one of the reasons prices were still so high.

"Given energy bills will stay high for the foreseeable future, we now need the next government to act quickly after the election to end energy debt, protect households from the volatile global energy market, bring down bills for good, improve housing standards, and make Britain a clean energy nation," he said.