Cost of living crisis: Energy firms expect bill help to continue in April - reports

Energy firms are rolling out plans to amend bills in expectation that the government will keep support at or near current levels according to reports.

Under the new price of energy, household bills are set to soar to £3,000 a year from April, with numerous calls made by charities and campaigners for the government to retain its current level of support so they stay at £2,500.

Martin Lewis has joined calls for the Government to urgently consider halting plans to raise energy bills in April, saying any decision cannot wait until the spring Budget.

The government had previously said all help for bills is under review with a Treasury source declining to "comment on speculation" that intervention was being planned.

Currently the majority of people in the UK paying the energy price guarantee (EPG) which is the state energy tariff – which is set to increase by 20 per cent on from April, which will coincide with the ending of the £400 winter discount.

From 1 April the help is scheduled to be scaled back, which will push bills up.

Fuel poverty campaigners have said the number of households struggling to afford bills could rise from 6.7 million to 8.4 million as a result of the April rise.

The BBC reports however that some energy companies have already started amending future bills to reflect that energy help will continue at or very near to current levels beyond 1 April, with experts suggesting it is increasingly likely Jeremy Hunt will intervene, probably at the Spring Budget on 15 March.

The Resolution Foundation think tank, which aims to improve living standards for people on low to middle incomes, and consumer rights champion Martin Lewis have both said Mr Hunt is highly likely to cancel the bills rise.

Asked previously, Jeremy Hunt indicated there is no headroom for a “major new initiative” to help households with energy bills which are set to soar from April.As well as intervention and support, many industry leaders have called on the government to cap the Energy Price Guarantee fixed to £2,500 for the rest of the year.