Citizens Advice saw the highest ever number of people unable to top up their prepayment meter

The full scale of how much energy bills will rise is to be revealed by Ofgem tomorrow – and it is expected its price cap will rise 80 per cent to £3,576.

Millions of households are fearing rising energy debts, with half expected to fall into fuel poverty this winter if steps aren’t taken to curb rising energy costs. 

Citizens Advice has reported a huge demand for its services after the April price cap increase jumped to £1,971, while debt charities reported that energy arrears are already the most common form of household debt. 

The charity has called for more financial lifelines heading into a bleak winter, after the number of calls they received from struggling households soared more than 40 per cent from July 2021.

It says this has been a record breaking year for referrals for crisis support, with more than 120,000 people relying in its support. 

Meanwhile, 134,000 bill-payers have contacted the charity for energy bill support since the start of the year.

The charity’s latest data reveals a record number have been unable to top up their prepayment meter – the fifth time the record has been broken this year.

Around 13,000 prepayment meter customers reported to Citizens Advice that they were struggling to pay for their energy in July compared to 4,300 in 2021 – and that is before the new higher cap comes into play, and the colder winter months.

Analysis from the charity also shows that even with current government support, one in five people would not be able to afford to pay their energy bills in October based on the projected price cap rise.

This could jump to more than one in three people from January 2023 when the price cap is predicted to soar above £4,600

Based on the projected price cap rise the average prepayment meter customer will be spending £249 a month on to keep their prepay meter topped up this for October, jumping to £563 in January 2023. 

Around six million households are reportedly behind on their energy bills by £200, while another eight million bill-payers are said to have no credit on their balances.

And, more than 3 million households in England and Wales were reportedly still waiting to receive their £150 energy rebate several months after the scheme was launched to help pay for soaring gas and electricity bills was launched.  

> Guide: How to save money on energy and what you need to know about your bills 

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: ‘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.’

Meanwhile, energy giant’s Scottish Power proposed a £100billion plan to freeze customers’ energy bills for two years amid soaring costs. 

However, both candidates vying to become the Prime Minister have ruled out a freeze on energy prices, claiming it would be an expensive, short-term fix that would fail to solve the underlying problem.   

Rishi Sunak said he was ‘nervous and sceptical’ about Scottish Powers proposed plans to introduce the tariff deficit fund. 

He said: ‘We need to make sure that what we’re doing in response is not only affordable but also isn’t going to make inflation worse … embarking on policies and programmes that add not just billions but tens and tens and tens and tens of billions of pounds on a permanent basis to our borrowing are risky.’

Meanwhile, the Isle of Man’s government agreed to freezing electricity prices until March 2023 for their residents and businesses, to shield them from the expected sharp increase in bills this winter.