Energy bills are now expected to rise in autumn, a reversal from the previously anticipated price drop, a prominent forecaster has said.

Households will be charged £17 more for a typical annual bill from October as the energy price cap is due to rise, according to consultants Cornwall Insight.

In roughly six weeks, an average dual fuel bill will be £1,737 a year, Cornwall Insights predicted, 1% above the current price cap of £1,720 a year.

The price cap limits the cost per unit of energy and is revised every three months by the energy regulator Ofgem.

Bills had previously been forecast by the consultants to fall in October. Such an increase had not been anticipated until now.

Why are bills getting more expensive?

Charges are predicted to be introduced from October to fund government policies. Measures such as the expansion of the warm home discount, announced in June, will add roughly £15 to an average monthly bill.

The discount will provide £150 in support to 2.7 million extra people this year, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 6 million.

Volatile electricity and gas prices are also to blame for the forecast increase.

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Turbulent geopolitical events during Ofgem’s observation period for determining the cap, including the unpredictability of US trade policy, have also had an impact, while Israel’s airstrikes on Iran intensified concerns about disruption to gas shipments.

Prices have eased, however, with British wholesale gas costs dropping to the lowest level in more than a year.

Also helping to keep the possible bill rise relatively small is news from the European Parliament that rules on gas storage stocks for the winter would be eased.

Bulk buying and storage of gas in warmer months helps eliminate pressure on supplies when demand is at its highest during cold snaps.

When will bills go down?

A small drop in bills is forecast for January, but it is subject to geopolitical movements, weather patterns and changes to policy costs.

An extra charge, for example, could be added to support new nuclear generating capacity.

The official Ofgem announcement will be made on 27 August.

Consumers could be allowed to attend water company board meetings under new rules proposed by the regulator.

Companies may survey and research customers to understand their views, involve them in decision-making and seek feedback on consumers’ experience.

Under the suggested reforms by regulator Ofwat, customer voices could be heard by making changes to a company’s governing body, the board of directors.

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The obligation to hear billpayers’ views could be met by boards allocating time for consumer matters, arranging for consumer experts to attend, holding open board meetings for the public, or by having an independent director with a consumer focus.

Boards could also comply by arranging for independent consumer experts, such as the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), to regularly attend.

Topics that consumers will have to be consulted on include the cost of bills, performance of key water services, support when things go wrong – like water outages – and the company’s investment priorities.

When decisions likely to materially impact consumers are made, the water company needs to have clear processes to ensure consumers are involved, Ofwat said.

As well as including water users in decision-making, utilities will have to work to understand how decisions impact consumers so those views are taken into account in future decisions.

Seeking this feedback must involve engaging with the new consumer panels being developed by the CCW to hold companies to account, Ofwat’s rules outline.

Why’s this being done?

It’s all part of the government’s aim to rebuild trust in the water sector and to improve accountability, transparency and performance in water firms.

The public has been outraged by record sewage outflows and polluted waterways at a time when senior executives are receiving bonuses and bills are rising.

New powers were granted to regulator Ofwat to clean up the sector, and rules on pay and bonuses were developed and took effect in June.

They’ve already been used to claw back bonuses.

What next?

Stakeholders have until 1 October to respond to the consultation, with Ofwat intending the rules take effect on existing water utilities in April.

Consultations already took place to make the suggested rules with 11,000 responses received from businesses, groups and individuals.

Not all of the replies made their way into the rules. The idea of having MPs and local authorities involved in decision-making, received from “several respondents”, appears not to have been included.

It comes despite the recent announcement of Ofwat being scrapped, as part of a once-in-a-generation review of the sector.

It and the other regulators are to be replaced by one single body.

Ofwat said it was working until new arrangements were in place and continuing to implement rules on remuneration and governance.

How’s it been received?

Environmental charity River Action said to rebuild trust in the industry, the government “needs to go a lot further than tinkering around the edges”.

“We need a complete overhaul of how water companies are owned, financed and governed. That means ending privatisation and instead operating for public benefit,” chief executive James Wallace said.

Industry group Water UK said: “It is important customers are involved in water companies’ decision-making.

“We will continue to work with government on these proposed rules and other vital reforms to secure our water supplies, support economic growth and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.”

More than 200 UK pubs closed in the first half of the year as part of a “heartbreaking” trend which industry bosses fear is set to accelerate.

Analysis of government figures revealed 209 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses over the opening six months of 2025 – around eight every week.

The South East was hit the hardest, losing 31 pubs during the period.

It means 2,283 pubs have vanished from communities across England and Wales since the start of 2020.

Industry bosses said the “really sad pattern” is being driven by the high costs faced by pubs – and called for government reforms to business rates and beer duty.

Many pubs have been hit by changes to discounts on business rates, the property tax affecting high street businesses.

Hospitality businesses received a 60% discount on their business rates up to a cap of £110,000 – but this was cut to only 25% in April.

Pub owners had warned such a move would place significant pressure on their industry.

Last month, the owner of a pub told Sky News “you can’t make money anymore” and “it’s not surprising so many pubs are closing at an alarming rate”.

‘Staying open becomes impossible’

A rise in the national minimum wage and national insurance payments have also increased bills for pubs.

Alex Probyn, of commercial real estate specialists Ryan, which analysed the government data, said the higher costs are “all quietly draining profits until staying open becomes impossible”.

He added: “Slashing business rates relief for pubs from 75% to 40% this year has landed the sector with an extra £215m in tax bills.

“For a small pub, that’s a leap in the average bill from £3,938 to £9,451 – a 140% increase.”

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‘A lot of these pubs never come back’

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer And Pub Association, said: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking and there is a direct link between pubs closing for good and the huge jump in costs they have just endured.

“Pubs and brewers are important employers, drivers of economic growth, but are also really valuable to local communities across the country and have real social value.

“This is a really sad pattern, and unfortunately a lot of these pubs never come back.

“The government needs to act at the budget, with major reforms to business rates and beer duty.”