ENERGY bills could soar to £5,000 by the autumn thanks to the war in Ukraine and a volatile market, ministers have reportedly been warned.
Industry chiefs have said the cap could rise again to £2,400 in October as suppliers pass on the costs of soaring wholesale prices.
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But the Chancellor said it was too early to tell what would happen – as he admitted “I can’t make every problem disappear”.
The energy price cap has already jumped £700 to nearly £2,000 at the start of April – but is set to go up again if prices stay high over the summer.
One Whitehall source suggested the cap could more than double again.
They told the Daily Mail: “It could be anywhere between £1,500 and £5,000 depending on the extent to which the war affects gas supplies.”
But last night Government insiders slapped down the wildly high suggestions as “nonsense”.
The regulator and officials from the Department for Business did recognise the staggering figures.
Last night the Chancellor said it was too early to say what would happen in future.
He said on a trip to Darlington: “None of us sitting here know what the price cap is going to be in the autumn – they are very volatile energy prices, they’ve been going up and down.
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“It wouldn’t be right to kind of stand up now and say, Well, this is what will happen, we just don’t know.
“But we’ve always said we stand ready to support people as required.”
He added on Government measures that have already been put in place: “Do they solve the entire problem? Of course they don’t.
“I’d be wrong and lying if I said I could, but we are providing significant help with energy bills, and with more to come.”
