Martin Lewis urges people facing cost of living crisis to think twice before switching suppliers despite hike
Average energy bills will rise by £693 a year for around 22 million UK households from 1 April, after a 54 per cent increase on the current price cap announced on Thursday
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Your support makes all the difference.Money saving expert Martin Lewis has advised households on how best to deal with upcoming rising cost of energy bills.
On his ITV show, Mr Lewis said most people should “do nothing” rather than searching for cheaper deals, due to the unpredictability of the market.
On Thursday, energy regulator Ofgem announced that the average energy bill will rise by £693 a year for around 22 million UK households from 1 April, after a 54 per cent increase on the current price cap.
Before the energy crisis, customers would typically shop around for the best energy deals but Mr Lewis has advised that there is “no market fix” and warned of further increases predicted for October.
He said: “If we assume that in October, the price cap stays where it is in April, you would have to find a fix that is less than 44% more expensive than where we are right now for it to be worth fixing.
“If we think it’s going to go up in October… by 20%, you’d need to find a fix that is now more than 59% more than the price cap today.
“The cheapest fix right now is 68% more than the current price cap - way more than the April 1 price cap, even more than my high end scenario in October.
“ Of course, anything could happen - but there ain’t no market fix that you should be going for right now.
“Maybe some existing customers in certain circumstances with high or low use might find one… but the message for most people: do nothing. Stick on the price cap. Don’t fix.”
The government announced that households will receive a £200 upfront discount of the cost of energy bills, but it will need to be paid back.
In an interview with Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Mr Lewis said: “There are clearly two groups of people that you had to help here. One was the most vulnerable and the other are in the squeezed middle for who life is going to be difficult but survivable with these increases.
He added: “I have been using the phrase and I don’t think this is an exaggeration: some will have to choose whether they freeze or whether they starve. We have seen food bank usage go up.
“Do you believe that we are now in a position in this country where no one will have to choose between heating and starving?”
The Chancellor argued the government has helped those most in need.
He said: “I think we have a range of measures in place to help those who need our help.
“Taking a step back, people can judge me and the government by our track record over the last year or two.
“All the facts and figures show that actually that those in the most vulnerable situations and on the lowest income got the most support from the government.
“We made a big difference to their lives and we will continue to do that.”
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