Power costs for hundreds of thousands of households may rise by one other £1,000 by October, the boss of the business physique has warned as wholesale gasoline costs proceed to soar.
Emma Pinchbeck, chief government of Power UK, stated the common family could also be pressured to pay between £2,500 and £3,000 per yr for his or her provides. It could imply power costs greater than doubling from the present cap, which is about at £1,277 per yr for the common family - the cap is already scheduled to rise to £1,971 from the start of April.
Nevertheless, the predictions are very early and based mostly on the latest knowledge, so they're prone to change earlier than the October worth cap is introduced this summer season.
Regulator Ofgem has warned in opposition to early predictions, saying that the forecasts six months in the past ended up being very incorrect.
Ms Pinchbeck informed BBC Radio 4's In the present day programme: "It is a actually worrying time for each clients and business, and we have been saying because the autumn that we anticipate payments to go up once more in October.
"I feel, with what we're seeing in Ukraine and within the oil and gasoline markets, we're now anticipating these to go up additional.
"We have seen public figures quoting payments at round £3,000 in October. We all know they're going to be round £2,000 from April when the worth cap goes up.
"It is very, very onerous to foretell, and it is all extremely speculative as a result of the hallmark of the market for the time being is volatility.
"The necessary factor to anybody listening to this on their payments is that there's assist accessible, significantly for weak clients, and we're going to be working with the [UK] Authorities to attempt to get further assist in place."
She added: "If this seems to be an everlasting state of affairs available in the market, you'll be able to anticipate payments to be anyplace between £2,500 and £3,000 in October, relying on the tariffs that individuals have, and what occurs available in the market."
She additionally warned of "impacts on business" over the approaching months.
Practically 30 power suppliers have gone bust within the final yr after being caught within the squeeze between the worth cap and rising gasoline costs.
Earlier this week, analysts at consultancy Cornwall Perception stated they suppose the worth cap may hit £2,900 for the common family in October.
They stated £400 has been added to their predictions for October's cap since Wednesday final week, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked assault on Ukraine.
Cornwall senior advisor Dr Craig Lowrey stated: "Following the catastrophic occasions within the Ukraine and the following provide considerations throughout Europe, wholesale costs have been extraordinarily risky.
"On Friday we noticed our power worth predictions fall by over £200, just for them to rocket to the document ranges we see at this time.
"With the response of nations and firms to the actions of Russia altering virtually hourly, there isn't a doubt these peaks and troughs are set to proceed not less than within the brief time period.
"The UK Authorities will have to be prepared with methods to mitigate the influence on customers, with a rise in monetary assist to households prone to be a necessity, along with renewed concerns on assist to enterprise clients."
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