Martin Lewis urges more support from government once energy price guarantee ends

Martin Lewis has warned that household bills are likely to be determined by the energy price cap again from the end of next April. Credit: PA

Martin Lewis has urged the government to come up with a support package which will continue to aid households with energy bills, after Jeremy Hunt revealed the energy price guarantee will only remain in place until April next year.

The chancellor made the announcement on Monday, during an address in which he said he would be reversing almost all of the measures announced by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, in September's mini-budget.

Mr Hunt brought forward the plans in order to outline how the government will fund its financial strategy - which includes the energy price guarantee.

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He said the guarantee would stay in place until April, and beyond that point the treasury will conduct a review on how best to support energy prices.

Reacting to the announcement on Twitter Mr Lewis said: "While energy intervention was desperately needed - a universal energy price guarantee was always expensive and poorly targeted.

"The post-April support will still need [to] reach a decent way up the net and support middle earners, energy rates are still huge."

Speaking to ITV News Mr Lewis said his assumption is that once the April deadline passes, energy bills will revert back to being dictated by the energy price cap - something he predicted will be set between £3,000 and £4,000.

At present the energy price guarantee is capped at £2,500 for an individual who pays typical bills.

He said: "What we really have to look at though is what is the situation here?

"Will the help that comes from April only be for those on benefits, pensioners and those with disabilities? Or will it actually spread higher up the income net, which I think it needs to. I think middle earners are going to need to be helped too."

Asked what Britons can do to help manage energy bills by the time the price guarantee comes to an end, Mr Lewis responded: "Nothing. There is nothing you can do. There are no other tariffs.

"Of course you could be cutting your usage, you could be making sure your house is better insulated.

"And those are things we should always be doing all the time, both for an individual's bills, for energy security and for the environment as well.

"But in practical terms about whether you should be fixing or switching there is no meaningful change anybody can make right now."

He added the "only decision available" for people left to make is for those who are currently on expensive fixes, explaining "they have to decide whether they stay on the fix or they move to the price guarantee".

"My instinct is telling me they should move to the price guarantee," he added.

Elsewhere, Mr Lewis said he thought the new chancellor "probably has got a grip on the economy" although he maintained "that is far from saying we’re out of the woods".

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