Energy firms rallied on Monday as chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his emergency statement that energy support in the form of a freeze on bills will be reviewed in April.
Prime minister Liz Truss announced in September that household energy bills would be capped at £2,500 for the next two years. She said at the time that the energy price cap would be fixed at £2,500 from 1 October, saving the average household around £1,000 a year. The move was in addition to the previously announced £400 energy bill discount.
Typical household gas and electricity bills had been set to rise from £1,971 to more than £3,500 on 1 October, with the potential to reach £6,000 in January 2023, when the next price cap review was due.
However, Hunt said on Monday that the energy price cap guarantee would now last only until April. The new chancellor also said on Monday that nearly all of the tax cuts announced in former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s so-called mini-budget will be scrapped.
At 1135 BST, shares of British Gas owner Centrica were up 3.2%, while United Utilities and Severn Trent were up 4.9% and 4.7%, respectively. National Grid was 2.7% firmer.
