- Ofgem announces the price cap to rise for third successive time by 6.4% in April to £1,849 a year for a typical household
- New polling by National Energy Action with YouGov finds 56% of adults in Wales likely to ration energy in coming months
- Only 38% of adults in Wales said that they have been able to comfortably afford their heating bill in the last three months, polling finds
Energy bills are set for a third successive increase, with the price cap rising 6.4% (over £100) to £1,849 a year for a typical household from 1 April.
The announcement from Ofgem comes as new polling from National Energy Action and YouGov finds that 56% of adults in Wales likely to ration energy in coming months (compared to 49% in GB).
The polling also finds that only 38% of adults in Wales say that they have been able to comfortably afford their heating bill in the last three months, without needing to ration their heating or making cuts elsewhere (compared to 42% in GB).
In households with prepayment meters, 36% of adults in Wales have found themselves without credit on their prepayment meter at least once in the last 12 months (27% in GB).
National Energy Action Head of Wales Ben Saltmarsh says, ‘This is the third price cap rise in a row. The cost of energy remains stubbornly high – far beyond pre-crisis levels – and out of reach for hundreds of thousands of the poorest households across Wales. People continue to ration their heating, fall into record levels of energy debt, and go without essentials. For many, this has become their new normal.
‘We need enduring solutions to this systemic problem, to help make energy affordable for those most in need, rid them of the burden of debt, and make their homes warmer, healthier places to live.’
National Energy Action is calling for additional targeted energy bill support through a social tariff or an expanded Warm Home Discount; a help-to-repay scheme to support households out of debt; and for a significant increase in investment in the Welsh government’s Warm Homes Programme to insulate the coldest homes for the poorest households.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- National Energy Action (NEA), is the national fuel poverty charity, working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to improve the lives of people in fuel poverty. We directly support people with energy and income maximisation advice, and we advocate on issues such as the current energy crisis and the need to improve the energy efficiency of our homes. See: www.nea.org.uk/.
- All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,313 adults in Wales. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13-20 January 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Wales adults (aged 18+).
If this goes online, please link to https://www.nea.org.uk/energy-crisis/. We are on Twitter/X: @NEA_Cymru and Bluesky: @nea-ukcharity.bsky.social.