Energy bills are rising again tomorrow (1 January 2026) to £1,758² a year for the typical household³.
This rise is happening as 6 million UK children already live in fuel poverty, charity National Energy Action estimates. In response, National Energy Action Chief Executive Adam Scorer says, ‘We enter the coldest months of the year with energy prices stubbornly high and a warm home out of reach for millions of households.
‘The January price cap may only rise by 1%, but a typical bill is still £500 a year higher than winter 2021. Household energy debt continues to soar to new unwelcome records and will total over £5 billion in 2026.
‘While everyone can expect £150 off their bills in April, on average, as a result of the recent Budget, there is still another winter to endure. Millions of families will have either gone deep into the red to heat their homes while their children are off school or been blue with cold over Christmas. Six million children are estimated to live in fuel poor homes. Winter cruelly exposes the cost of a cold home to young children.
‘We expect the first announcements of the UK government’s £15 billion Warm Homes Plan very soon. It represents the biggest single opportunity to turn the tide on fuel poverty and cold homes. There are many options available to the UK government as it decides how to spend £15 billion. But there are a few key tests. How many more children will spend winter in a warm and comfortable home as a result of the plan? How many of the 5 million homes to benefit from the Plan will be ones where families cannot afford a warm and healthy home?’
ENDS
Notes to editors
- National Energy Action (NEA), is the national fuel poverty charity, working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to improve the lives of people in fuel poverty. We directly support people with energy and income maximisation advice, and we advocate on issues such as the current energy crisis and the need to improve the energy efficiency of our homes. See: www.nea.org.uk.
- https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/press-release/energy-price-cap-will-rise-02-january
- Ofgem estimates the typical household in England, Scotland and Wales uses 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas in a year.
If this goes online, please link to https://www.nea.org.uk/energy-crisis/. We are on Twitter/X: @NEA_UKCharity and Bluesky: @nea.org.uk.