Household energy bills in Great Britain ‘could rise to almost £2,000 a year’ amid Iran war shock

## Summary
Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy Household energy bills in Great Britain ‘could rise to almost £2,000 a year’ amid Iran war shock Consultancy forecasts typical £1,972 annual dual fuel bill as conflict pushes UK’s gas market past three-year highs Business live – latest updates Household energy bills in Great Britain could soar by more than £330 a year to almost £2,000 from this summer after the war in Iran pushed the UK’s gas market past three-year highs. A typical combined household gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,972 a year from July under the UK government’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by Cornwall Insight, an energy consultancy. The fresh forecast has soared above an estimate from two weeks ago when the consultants predicted, after only five days of war in the Middle East, that the price cap could climb to £1,800 a year from July from £1,641 a year under the April to June cap. Energy bills: UK government urged to launch ‘social tariff’ to help vulnerable households Read more The newly forecast 20% increase in household energy costs was fuelled by a rise in European gas prices this week after a significant escalation in the conflict during which some of the region’s most important infrastructure was targeted for the first time since the conflict began three weeks ago.

## Article Content
Cornwall Insight’s fresh forecast has soared above its estimate from two weeks ago that the price cap could climb to £1,800 a year from July.
Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy
View image in fullscreen
Cornwall Insight’s fresh forecast has soared above its estimate from two weeks ago that the price cap could climb to £1,800 a year from July.
Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy
Household energy bills in Great Britain ‘could rise to almost £2,000 a year’ amid Iran war shock
Consultancy forecasts typical £1,972 annual dual fuel bill as conflict pushes UK’s gas market past three-year highs
Business live – latest updates
Household energy bills in Great Britain could soar by more than £330 a year to almost £2,000 from this summer after the war in
Iran
pushed the UK’s gas market past three-year highs.
A typical combined household gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,972 a year from July under the UK government’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by Cornwall Insight, an energy consultancy.
The fresh forecast has soared above an estimate from two weeks ago when the consultants predicted, after only five days of war in the Middle East, that the price cap could climb
to £1,800 a year from July from £1,641 a year
under the April to June cap.
Energy bills: UK government urged to launch ‘social tariff’ to help vulnerable households
Read more
The newly forecast 20% increase in household energy costs was fuelled by a rise in European gas prices this week after a significant escalation in the conflict during which some of the region’s most important infrastructure was targeted for the first time since the conflict began three weeks ago.
Gas prices in Europe rose 30% on Thursday after Qatar confirmed that missiles caused extensive damage at the world’s biggest processing facility for seaborne gas, which could take up to five years to repair.
Europe’s gas markets have eased on Friday but prices remain twice as high since the start of the war. The market price for UK gas delivered next month also eased, down 2% to 153p a therm on Friday from highs of 180p on Thursday, but also remain almost double the level before the Iran war began.
Meanwhile, Brent crude traded at about $107 (£80) a barrel after falling from highs of $119 on Thursday. The international benchmark remains almost 50% higher than before the conflict began.
The £1,641 cap for April to June – set by the industry regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, represents a £117 cut from
the January-March cap
for millions of households, but prices are then expected to rise sharply from the summer.
Households also face the prospect of higher mortgage costs, after the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold on Thursday but signalled it could be forced to increase borrowing costs in the coming months. The central bank
kept rates on hold
at 3.75%.
The risk of a steep increase in household energy costs has emerged as the world’s energy watchdog urged global governments to consider
Covid-style emergency measures
to help reduce energy use.
The International Energy Agency said several governments are already considering policies to conserve energy. These include asking people to work from home where possible to reduce commuting and incentivising the use of public transport or sharing vehicles when travel is unavoidable.
The Paris-based agency has also suggested that governments could lower highway speed limits by at least 10km/h (6.2mph) to reduce fuel use for passenger vehicles and freight.
The IEA’s energy-saving measures focus primarily on road transport, which accounts for about 45% of the world’s oil demand. However, the agency has also set out plans to conserve liquefied petroleum gas in transport and heavy industry in developing countries where LPG is heavily used by households.
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Energy bills: UK government urged to launch ‘social tariff’ to help vulnerable households Read more The newly forecast 20% increase in household energy costs was fuelled by a rise in European gas prices this week after a significant escalation in the conflict during which some of the region’s most important infrastructure was targeted for the first time since the conflict began three weeks ago.

### Areas for Consideration
- The risk of a steep increase in household energy costs has emerged as the world’s energy watchdog urged global governments to consider Covid-style emergency measures to help reduce energy use.

### Implications
- Cornwall Insight’s fresh forecast has soared above its estimate from two weeks ago that the price cap could climb to £1,800 a year from July.
- Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy View image in fullscreen Cornwall Insight’s fresh forecast has soared above its estimate from two weeks ago that the price cap could climb to £1,800 a year from July.
- Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy Household energy bills in Great Britain ‘could rise to almost £2,000 a year’ amid Iran war shock Consultancy forecasts typical £1,972 annual dual fuel bill as conflict pushes UK’s gas market past three-year highs Business live – latest updates Household energy bills in Great Britain could soar by more than £330 a year to almost £2,000 from this summer after the war in Iran pushed the UK’s gas market past three-year highs.
- A typical combined household gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,972 a year from July under the UK government’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by Cornwall Insight, an energy consultancy.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers energy, gas, cap topics. Notable strengths include discussion of energy. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 651.