The average household energy bill will rise by £149 from 1 October 2024, after Ofgem increased its price cap by 10 per cent, from £1,568 to £1,717 for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales1. Analysis by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, carried out for the Telegraph, found that in real terms some older people will face the highest energy bills they have seen1.
The figures compare average household bills for non-pensioners with those for a pensioner who previously received the maximum Winter Fuel Payment1. The pensioner column includes the effect of the payment and of the Energy Bills Support Scheme, the Energy Price Guarantee and cost of living payments in the years where those applied1.
| Winter | Average household bill (non-pensioner) | Average household bill (pensioner on maximum Winter Fuel Payment rate) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | £1,042 | £742 |
| 2021/22 | £1,277 | £977 |
| 2022/23 | £2,100 | £1,500 |
| 2023/24 | £1,834 | £1,234 |
| 2024/25 | £1,717 | £1,717 |
The coalition said older people who previously had the maximum Winter Fuel Payment, and who will no longer receive the payments under the new arrangements, will face the highest energy bills on record1. The gap between the two columns closes entirely in 2024/25, when the pensioner figure equals the non-pensioner figure1.
"Pensioners will feel the brunt of the energy price hike this winter. In fact, for older people who previously had the Winter Fuel Payment, new analysis shows that their bills this winter will be the highest on record."
The same statement described the decision to end winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners as a false economy, arguing that more vulnerable people would suffer health complications from living in cold damp homes and turn to the NHS for help1. The coalition's page carrying the analysis is marked as out of date, with updated charts on price cap changes for older people moved to its main Ofgem price cap page1.
Why it matters for households
For a household that previously received the maximum Winter Fuel Payment, the payment had been reducing the effective cost of winter energy. The table shows that cushion disappearing: in 2023/24 the pensioner figure was £600 below the non-pensioner figure, and in 2024/25 the two are the same1. That change coincides with the cap rising by 10 per cent from October1.
The practical effect is that a pensioner household's bill is no longer offset by the payment, while the unit cost of the energy it buys has gone up. For a home's energy independence, that leaves less room in the budget for the measures that reduce consumption over the long term, such as insulation or heating controls, at the point when the standing cost of energy is highest. The coalition's concern is a health one as well as a financial one, linking cold damp homes to NHS pressure over the winter1.
The analysis covers England, Scotland and Wales, the area the price cap applies to1. It does not set out figures for Northern Ireland, and no separate estimate for other UK nations has been reported1.
What happens next
The price cap change takes effect on 1 October 20241. The coalition's analysis addresses the winter 2024/25 period, and its page states that the information is out of date, with newer price cap charts published separately1. No further dated steps are set out in the material1.
Sources1 cited
- Some pensioners face worst energy bills on record in winter 2023/4, endfuelpoverty.org.uk