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UK cost-of-living crisis worsens as energy price cap nearly doubles
Worse is expected to come in January, when Ofgem next updates its cap, with average bills predicted to top £5,000 -- or more.
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A shopper wearing a facemask as a precaution against the novel coronavirus passes a shop advertising a clearance sale in Chester, northwest England on August 12, 2020. (AFP/Paul ELLIS )
B
ritain announced Friday a vast 80-percent hike in electricity and gas bills, in a dramatic worsening of the cost-of-living crisis before winter as the country awaits a new leader.
Regulator Ofgem said its energy price cap, which sets prices for consumers who are not on a fixed deal with their supplier, will in October increase to an average £3,549 ($4,197) per year from the current £1,971.
Worse is expected to come in January, when Ofgem next updates its cap, with average bills predicted to top £5,000 -- or more.
"The increase reflects the continued rise in global wholesale gas prices, which began to surge as the world unlocked from the COVID-19 pandemic and have been driven still higher to record levels by Russia slowly switching off gas supplies to Europe," Ofgem said.
The announcement sparked outcry from charities which said financially-squeezed households faced one of the "bleakest Christmases" for years.
UK inflation is already in double-digits and forecast to strike 13 percent in the coming months due to runaway energy bills.
Inflation is at its highest level since 1982, with industrial action over pay growing, and the country is predicted to enter recession later this year.
