Martin Lewis issues 'please share' energy bills advice as 'big hikes' on the way

Martin Lewis
-Credit: (Image: (Image: ITVX))


Finance expert Martin Lewis has urged fans to share his advice on energy bills as prices are set to "rise rapidly" from October. The Money Saving Expert founder shared his knowledge on his latest BBC Sounds podcast which was released on September 12.

Sharing the episode on X, Martin wrote: "If you're wondering what to do with energy bills with the big hikes coming, here I talk you through it, step-by-step in simple terms, to hopefully make it easy for you to work out. Please share with anyone who mentions it."

Discussing the energy price cap rise on October 1 with co-host Adrian Chiles, Martin addressed the common conundrum of whether its best to fix or remain on the price cap. Explaining how the October price cap will affect households Martin said it will see the majority of households paying 10% more on energy this winter. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here

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He said: "[Typical use] for someone who is paying £1,570 a year now, will on average be paying £1,720 a year [from October 1]. The current prediction for January - and we are in that assessment period - is between a 1% and 3% rise again that would put you on around £1,740 rather than £1,570 now. Then in April is a 1% drop and next July is a 2% drop taking you down a smidge.

"The current prediction is [energy] will go up rapidly in October, up a little but in January, down a little bit in April and down a little bit in July. That would leave you, even in July as someone who pays £1,570 now, still paying £1,690. So right now if things continue as predicted even going all the way to next September - as far as predictions go - you are going to be paying substantially more on your energy bills than you do right now. For every £100 you pay on energy now you're going to be paying around £110 from October onwards."

When considering whether to fix, Martin advised that is is the right choice for "anyone who is risk averse". Talking listeners through some of the best fixes out there, Martin suggested they consider a newly launched fix by British Gas.

He said: "A new one launched today it's British Gas, a one year fix. On that one year fix you will pay roughly 5% more than the current price cap which is 4% less than the October price cap. You will be paying more than you are now, but less than you will be from October... It will be saving you probably 4%. The bigger advantage [is that] regardless of what happens, you are locking in to a rate, so you have a guarantee of no rate rises for a year and at a rate that's 4% cheaper than the October price cap." He added that there are similar price tariffs out there from "Outfox and Market and Eonext and Octopus".