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Economy
May 19, 2026
Analyzed by Llama- 4 Scout 17B 16E Instruct

UK Energy Bills Forecast to Rise by £200 in July

AI Summary
UK households may see a £200 increase in energy bills from July, reaching nearly £1,900 per year, due to rising wholesale energy prices. This forecast comes as a blow to those struggling with the cost of living crisis.

The Looming Energy Bill Increase

Households in Great Britain could see their energy bills increase by over £200 a year to almost £1,900 from this summer in “a kick in the teeth” for millions struggling with the cost of living crisis.

Forecasted Price Cap

A typical gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,850 a year from July under the industry regulator Ofgem’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight.

The Data Analysis

  • The expected rise is nearly 13% higher than the £1,641 cap on energy bills set for April to June.
  • This adds £209 to a typical annual bill.
  • The increase is driven by rising wholesale energy prices, which climbed sharply in February and March.

The Impact Analysis

The main driver for the increase is rising wholesale energy prices, according to Cornwall. Prices climbed sharply in February and March after Tehran effectively cut off Gulf energy supplies to the global market by shutting the strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The Prediction

Although the summer energy cap rise will be painful for households, the bigger concern is bills from October when households typically use more energy and face higher bills as a result. The consultancy said that, even if the Iran war ended tomorrow, “the physical damage to infrastructure, and lingering effect of disrupted supply, means a fall back to April’s price cap levels in the autumn looks unlikely”.