After saying he would not provide any more help for households to pay their energy bills, it seems Jeremy Hunt is preparing to do just that.

The Express is reporting that he will extend the government’s £2,500 energy price guarantee for three months, until wholesale energy prices fall below the current Ofgem price cap in July, as they are expected to do.

Previously, the price guarantee was set to be raised to £3,000 in what would have been a £500 rise in energy bills for the average household.

It still represents an increase of £400, as the government’s grant that has kept bills down until now is ending at the beginning of April.

If the claim is true, it will be a major victory for Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, who had petitioned the government to use some expected savings to protect households.

As This Site stated in February,

According to Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, when the announcement that the price guarantee would rise by 20 per cent was made in Hunt’s Autumn Statement, energy prices were significantly higher than they are now.

The current expectation is that in July, energy regulator Ofgem’s price cap (rather than the government’s price guarantee) will drop below both the £3,000 set to come in April and the £2,500 limit in force now, so we will all pay less.

This means the government is likely to save around £10 billion on what it was expecting to spend on the price guarantee at the time of the Autumn Statement.

Mr Lewis has written to the Chancellor, informing him of these expectations and calling on him to keep the price guarantee at its current level until July – a measure that will add only £1.5 billion to the current cost (leaving £8.5 billion in the kitty).

He has said this is better than inflicting poverty – and its devastating effects – on the people of the UK.

The Express is now saying the cost is likely to be £3 billion, which is fine because it still leaves £7 billion in expected savings.

Let’s look forward to confirmation of this move in the Budget statement on March 15.

Source: Jeremy Hunt ‘to extend £2,500 energy price guarantee’ for three months

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