ENERGY bills will rise by £600 a year for a record 22million households in April.
The new price cap, which is set to rocket from £1,277 to £1,900 for an average household, will be confirmed on February 7.
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When it was last reviewed in October last year it protected 11million households — but that number has now doubled to 22million.
That is because millions of households have come off cheap fixed tariffs or have been moved to more expensive deals with new suppliers after their previous firm went bust.
They now face paying almost double for gas and electricity compared to August last year, while wholesale gas prices soar to historic levels.
The average fixed tariff was £984 between October and December last year, according to Energyhelpline.com.
This means many households will now have to find an extra £76 a month.
Experts predict energy bills will rise again in October to over £2,000 a year.
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Dr Craig Lowrey, from Cornwall Insight, said: “It is looking increasingly likely the summer default tariff cap will increase around 50 per cent to approximately £1,900 for the typical user, adding more than £600 extra on the average yearly bill.
“Assuming there is no change in the delivery of the cap, we forecast winter prices are likely to increase even more to in excess of £2,000.”
