ENERGY bills are set to rocket to £3,549 on average per year.

The new price cap comes into effect on October 1, regulator Ofgem has said.

The 80.6 per cent rise on the current cap will affect 24 million households.

The price cap is the maximum amount that companies can charge households per unit of energy they use (kilowatt hour or kWh on bills). It also limits how much energy firms can charge customers for their standing charges.

The cap will remain in place until it is adjusted again on December 31. 

No immediate extra help will be announced by Boris Johnson’s Government, with major financial decisions being postponed until either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak is in No 10 after the Tory leadership contest.

Hexham MP Guy Opperman, however, has said he is to campaign for further government measures to help ease the cost of living.

He said: "I am very concerned by what this latest announcement means for local people’s energy bills.

"Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine has caused the cost of everything to rise – especially energy.

"The Government has already announced a package of measures to support people with the cost of living but I will campaign for further government measures to ensure local people are supported through these tough times”.

Rhiannon Bearne, director of policy and representation at the North East of England Chamber of Commerce, added: "The new price cap is a bellwether for the economic stress we know so many businesses and households will be under this autumn.

"Our most recent survey of businesses told us that energy concerns are second only to inflation in members’ minds right now.

"Yesterday, we supported the British Chamber of Commerce’s new five-point plan to tackle the cost-of-doing business crisis. This includes a temporary cut in VAT to 5 per cent to reduce energy costs and Emergency Energy Grants for SMEs. These calls are practical and proportion to the scale of challenges facing businesses and consumers right now.

"We urge Government to act."

The Government has, so far, announced a £37 billion package to help support families and pensioners with the cost of living, including £400 to every household, an additional £650 to eight million vulnerable households, £300 to pensioners through the Winter Fuel Payment and additional support for disabled people.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, added: “Every day, our advisers help people in desperate situations: people who can’t get to the end of the month without a food bank voucher, parents unable to afford nappies and patients with no credit to call their GP.

‘‘Without more support, the soundtrack to winter will be the beeping of emergency prepayment meter credit running out and the click of lights and appliances being turned off. 

“We need a plan, not platitudes. Government support has to match the scale of this crisis, there must be a financial lifeline for those who need it most.”