How the rising energy price cap will affect the cost of living in the South West
Watch Caron Bell's report
Households up and down the country will see their energy bills rise today by 54% due to the national energy price cap increase.
The increase allows energy suppliers to put prices up to reflect soaring wholesale prices, and all UK suppliers have had to increase their prices above the cap, meaning customers are unable to shop around.
The energy bill crisis will get worse before it gets better as prices are set to rise again in October.
The effects of this are tangible for every domestic energy user, and the figures are eye watering - a typical household's energy bill is set to go up £693 a year.
Locals are warning the impact on the South West's economy could be huge - from people losing their homes to small businesses going bust, and even care homes closing down.
How will the energy price cap increase affect the domestic cost of living in the South West?
Veteran Wesley Van Der Westhuyzen uses a prepayment meters, and is struggling with health problems.
He's already relying on charity support, and worries he could lose his home because of this.
"I'm teetering on the cliff and it just takes one landfall and there's trouble. And I'm not alone," he said.
Other bills like council tax, fuel, food are also on the rise.
To combat pushing people into further economic hardship, the government is giving most households a council tax rebate this month.
They are also cutting £200 off everyone's October energy bills as a grant which then has to be paid back.
How will the energy price cap increase affect businesses?
There are no rebates for businesses from the government, and no energy price cap.
While some hospitality venues are combatting rising costs by charging more to the customer, other small businesses are having to cover the costs themselves.
Gareth Negus runs the Electric Picture House in Wotton-under-Edge, and his electricty bill is about to double.
He said, "It's going to be an extra £3,000 or thereabouts a year. And for a small business like ours that's very often the difference between making a profit and making a loss."
In a Business West survey of more than 400 of our region's businesses, half of them said they expect energy bills to go up between 11 and 50% just in the next three months.
The problem for businesses isn't just their own bills, as more customers worry about their own finances, the less they spend at small business venues:
"Smaller businesses are being hit doubly hard with this, because not only have they got their own cripplingly high energy bills to face, but also potentially far fewer customers, because of course we will all have less money to spend as well."
In Chiselborough, pub landlord Andrew Buckmaster has seen bookings fall away as people cut back.
After Covid this business was already vulnerable. Now Andrew's wondering if it's viable at all to run his pub.
He said, "The phone calls have stopped ringing to book tables and people just aren't dropping in.
"It was quite shocking. It was the first time in the five years that I've had the pub that I've had a day where I haven't any bookings - lunchtime and dinner - and the phone didn't ring."
How will the energy price cap increase affect care homes?
Non-hospitality businesses like care homes are in trouble too.
Tony Stein runs 65 care homes across the South West. Fees for his private residents at one in Warminster are about to rise significantly, but that may not be enough to avoid closures.
"A lot of the homes take people who are socially funded and their fees are dictated to us by local authorities, and that gets very difficult, he said.
"This year what we're seeing is that April local authority increases are ranging from zero - i.e. nothing - to maybe 20%. If it isn't in some way resolved then inevitably there will be care homes that close."