And now the forecasters are saying the price cap could hit £6000

ProDave

As if the previous £5000 forecast was not bad enough.

To put that into perspective, it would mean the average UK household would have to find £5000 more each year to pay for their energy than they did last year.   There are going to be a LOT of UK households that simply will not be able to afford that.

Why do I get the feeling we are now being manipulated with ever ridiculous extreme forecasts, to butter us up ready for when the actual price cap is announced we will all just accept is as "phew, is that all"?

MattMattMattUK

ProDave said:

As if the previous £5000 forecast was not bad enough.

To put that into perspective, it would mean the average UK household would have to find £5000 more each year to pay for their energy than they did last year.   There are going to be a LOT of UK households that simply will not be able to afford that.

The thing with the levels that are predicted for October onwards as they are not going to be costs which most people will just blindly keep running up, they will cause behavioural and lifestyle changes, the average bill will not be even close to £6,000 because most people will cut back dramatically. There are predictions of dramatic drops in consumption due to cost increases, people will adjust their usage downward.

ProDave said:

Why do I get the feeling we are now being manipulated with ever ridiculous extreme forecasts, to butter us up ready for when the actual price cap is announced we will all just accept is as "phew, is that all"?

Why do you get that feeling? The predictions are based on market data from futures, if you have a look you can see the logic of how they are reaching the £5,000-6,000 figure. The government making people wait for announcements of help could be the political theatre element which might be closer to what you suggest, don't forget that the original handouts were announced on the day the Sue Grey Report was published. Though personally I am very doubtful that Truss would do anything that would really help. She has said multiple times over the last month there will be no more handouts and she will not freeze the price cap, I cannot see her changing her mind in her first week in Downing Street.

jobdone1

People will take to the streets, I'm sick of the rubbish now it won't be allowed to go on

MattMattMattUK

jobdone1 said:

People will take to the streets, I'm sick of the rubbish now it won't be allowed to go on

Sure some people will have a tantrum, but the reality is that the government cannot insulate us from a global issue, there will be a drop in living standards, it is cyclical. Temporary but fairly significant drops in living standards happened in most previous recessions, 2007-2008 we got off lightly and Covid the government spent far too much. As a nation we owe far too much, we have already mortgaged our children's and grandchildren's futures, the only real choice now is do we tough it out and accept a temporary drop in living standards, or do we borrow a huge amount more for our own selfish short term benefit and totally destroy the long term financial prospects of the nation, or do we do the right thing and suck it up.

mumf

Taking to the streets will do nothing. As regards the result ‘asked’ for anyway. You may be certain that somewhere it will result in damage and violence ,as the complain - about - anything  -brigade will latch on,for sure. Innocent folks will be caused more hassle and expense.

MattMattMattUK

jobdone1 said:

People will take to the streets, I'm sick of the rubbish now it won't be allowed to go on

Protesting or rioting is not going to solve anything. Russia won't suddenly withdraw from Ukraine and OPEC won't increase production just because some people have a tantrum in the UK.

MouldyOldDough

If Truss becomes next PM - We will be OK (especially the non-NI paying worst off) because she plans to make up for everyones additional expenses by reversing the NI changes - made by Johnson !

PennyForThem_2

MouldyOldDough said:

If Truss becomes next PM - We will be OK (especially the non-NI paying worst off) because she plans to make up for everyones additional expenses by reversing the NI changes - made by Johnson !

Umm - might help taxpayers (lowering income tax) and workers earning enough to pay NI but if Truss becomes PM she has made it rather clear that not prepared to hand out to those that fall through the gaps - unless she has already done a U-turn - see the Mail?????

Swipe

There is always the option of using half the energy you used last year

Percypeeved

Are we heading for £1 per kWh by autumn 2023?

MattMattMattUK

Percypeeved said:

Are we heading for £1 per kWh by autumn 2023?

That is too far away to predict with any real reliability, there are too many variables between now and then to be sure. The best guesses at the moment are that costs will start declining slightly at the back end of next year, but no one can make any reliable guesses either way.