Yahoo News Energy bills: UK's most expensive areas
With families facing the biggest fall in disposable income in three decades as energy bills are set to surge by almost £700 in April, the towns with the highest energy prices have been revealed.
Energy experts Boiler Central used new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to analyse the energy bills in every local authority in England and Wales to discover which region had the highest energy bills and where would be worst affected by the 54% increase in April.
The Isles of Scilly in Cornwall will be worst hit by 54% increase to the energy price cap, as data reveals it has the highest energy bills in the whole of the UK.
Households in the Isles of Scilly pay £1,227 on their energy bills every year — nearly £500 more than the average UK bill, which stands at £757.
Read more: Rishi Sunak announces £350 for UK households energy bills
Ceredigion in Wales has the UK’s second-highest energy bills, with households in the area spending £1,092 a year on their bills — £335 more than the UK average.
Eden in Cumbria is the UK’s third most expensive area for energy bills, with residents spending £1056 a year on energy bills — £229 more than the UK average.
Gwynedd, Camarthenshire and Powys also have some of the UK’s highest bills, with residents spending £1,016, £958 and £953 a year respectively on energy costs.
At the other end of the spectrum, Tower Hamlets in London has the UK’s lowest energy bills, with residents paying just £423 a year towards energy — over £300 less than the UK average.
Newham in London is the UK’s second cheapest area for energy bills, with households paying £458 a year for their energy. The City of London, Hackney and Southwark also have significantly cheaper energy bills than the rest of the nation.
“Energy bills are already sky-high and with bills soaring by a predicted £600 in Spring, it is those homes which are least energy efficient which will suffer the most from rising bills, as escaping heat will mean that your heating system works harder to compensate for the lack of warmth, costing you more,” Myles Robinson from Boiler Central said.
Read more: Energy price cap: Who will be hit hardest?
"Some energy suppliers offer hardship funds, where you can get up to £750 off your energy bills if you are living in fuel poverty, so if you are struggling, it’s worth checking if your supplier offers this.”
UK household energy bills will rise by £693 to £1,971 in April as the energy regulator Ofgem has announced a 54% energy price cap increase amid soaring oil and gas prices.
Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year, on average. Households who use prepay meters will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.
