The energy price cap is on course to remain steady through this winter but may jump in six months’ time, according to a respected industry forecast.

Ahead of the 2% rise in the default tariff, which is imposed from Wednesday until the end of December, Cornwall Insight said it was currently predicting that the latest increase would be eradicated for the January-March quarter.

It saw a £30 drop to average annual bills at the start of 2026 despite, the specialist said, the expected addition of a £10 per year levy to support the next generation of new nuclear power stations.

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Cornwall Insight warned that further government-imposed policy costs could add £100 more a year to bills from April, building on higher charges in place to pay for the green energy future and help for households through the expanded warm home discount.

Its prediction, which is subject to wholesale market movements and regulatory consultations on how to apply such charges to bills, would see the cap hit £1,855 from the October-December average £1,755.

Policy costs to assist the battle against climate change are playing an increasing role in determining the level of the price cap.

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There are 34 million households, including those on pre-payment meters and other standard variable arrangements, on the energy price cap.

There are a further 20 million unaffected by the price cap shift as they are on fixed rate deals.

They are only exposed to changes in raw energy prices and new policy costs when their term ends.

Wholesale prices – volatile since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022 – have been the main driver of rising bills since the end of the COVID pandemic.

But they are making little contribution to October’s increase as gas prices have remained stable recently due to weaker demand in the global economy and higher flows.

Much, however, depends on a lack of global shocks. The government wants to remove that volatility from our bills through a focus away from gas towards wind and new nuclear, including through modular reactors.

The problem for household bills in the interim is that it means even higher charges to help pay for the new infrastructure to support that shift in electricity provision.

Minister for energy consumers, Martin McCluskey, said: “Wholesale gas costs remain 75% above their levels before Russia invaded Ukraine. The more renewables on the system, the cheaper the wholesale price of electricity, which is why the only answer for Britain is this government’s mission to get us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices and onto clean, homegrown power we control.”

He said of efforts to support struggling households: “We are taking urgent action to support vulnerable families this winter, expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount to more than six million families, which helps one in five households with their energy bills.

“In the coming weeks, we will be announcing details of the biggest home upgrade programme in British history to improve up to five million homes, making them cheaper and cleaner to run.”

Recent figures by Ofgem showed a record sum for household energy debt.

The regulator revealed a £4.4bn total during the second quarter of the year – up by £750m on the same period in 2024.

The government has said it is working with Ofgem to find solutions. Ideas include the possibility of a debt relief scheme.

Will Owen, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said of the Cornwall Insight predictions: “The predicted rise is driven by the increasing costs of making our energy grid fit for the future, and these charges are being passed on to bill-payers.

“If you’re on a standard variable tariff, you can beat these expected rises and save on bills by switching to a well-priced fixed deal now.

“There are currently 26 fixed deals priced below the October price cap, with savings of around £234 for the average household.”

The group of lenders which want to take control of Britain’s biggest water utility and keep it out of government ownership are to pledge to the industry regulator that they will not offload the company before the end of the decade.

Sky News has learnt that Thames Water‘s largest creditor group, which account for the bulk of the company’s £20bn debt pile, will promise to retain ownership until it is in a sufficiently healthy position to attain a stock market listing.

The commitment to retain ownership until around 2030 is noteworthy because that is the date when the next regulatory price-setting cycle – known as an Asset Management Plan – is due to come into effect.

The creditors’ pledge will form part of a package to be submitted to Ofwat by the Class A creditors as soon as this week.

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It is designed to dispel any suggestion that the group of lenders might seek to offload Thames Water midway through a turnaround plan aimed at putting the company back on a sustainable long-term footing.

The creditors will also commit to not paying a dividend to shareholders for the length of the transformation plan or its return to the stock market, according to an executive at one of the participating funds.

Earlier this month, the London & Valley Water consortium – which includes Elliott Management and Apollo Global Management – set out proposals for a £20.5bn investment and turnaround plan.

Its focus on reducing pollution incidents and leaks – which have triggered hundreds of millions of pounds in fines for Thames Water and destroyed the company’s reputation – is aimed at persuading Ofwat and the government that the investors have a viable plan to run one of the country’s most important businesses.

Thames Water has more than 16 million customers, accounting for more than a quarter of Britain’s population.

In a statement issued four weeks ago, the chair designate, Mike McTighe, said its investment pledge made it “one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country”.

“Our core focus will be on improving performance for customers, maintaining the highest standards of drinking water, reducing pollution and overcoming the many other challenges Thames Water faces,” he said.

“This turnaround has the opportunity to transform essential services for 16 million customers, clean up our waterways and rebuild public trust.”

The creditors are trying to agree a private sector-led solution to the crisis at Thames Water weeks after Sky News revealed that the government had put insolvency practitioners on standby to oversee its collapse into a Special Administration Regime (SAR).

Steve Reed, the environment secretary prior to last month’s cabinet reshuffle, signed off the appointment of FTI Consulting to advise on contingency plans for the company to be placed into a SAR – meaning it would be temporarily nationalised.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has since said privately that the Treasury’s preference is for a private sector rescue of Thames Water.

Under the consortium’s plans, Thames Water’s largest group of creditors would in aggregate inject and write off as much as £18bn across its capital structure.

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Thames Water’s existing shareholders, which include the Universities Superannuation Scheme and an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, wrote off the value of their investments in the company months ago.

The company faces a deadline in the coming weeks to appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority against Ofwat’s final determination on its next five-year spending plan.

Ofwat ruled earlier this year that Thames Water can spend £20.5bn during the period from 2026, with the company arguing that it requires a further sum of approximately £4bn.

Thames Water was fined a record £123m several months ago over sewage leaks and the payment of dividends, with Ofwat lambasting the company over its performance and governance.

It has also been engulfed in a row over the legitimacy of bonuses paid to chief executive Chris Weston and other bosses, even as it attempts to secure its survival.

Under new laws, Thames Water is among half a dozen water companies which have been barred from paying bonuses this year because of their poor environmental records.

The creditor group was effectively left as the sole bidder for Thames Water after the private equity firm KKR withdrew from the process, citing political and reputational risks.

The Hong Kong-based investor CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI), which already owns Northumbrian Water, has sought to re-engage in talks about a rescue deal but has gained little traction in doing so.

Thames Water’s fate is also being hammered out against the backdrop of leadership change at Ofwat, with Sky News revealing during the summer that David Black, its chief executive, was to step down following the publication of a government-commissioned review which recommended the regulator’s abolition.

He has been replaced by Chris Walters, another Ofwat executive, on an interim basis.

A spokesperson for the creditor group declined to comment on Tuesday.

Dashcam footage sent to police by vigilante drivers has led to the number of fines skyrocketing by almost 80%, new research reveals.

More and more people are sending officers videos capturing dangerous driving offences, with an increase of 55% between 2022 and 2024, totalling 210,000 clips.

Almost one in five (18%) reports ended with a fixed penalty notice, according to data attained by Confused.com and shared exclusively with Sky News.

Another 29% of submissions prompted official warnings, while 14% required drivers to attend retraining courses and 5% even led to court prosecutions.

While the internet has dubbed these people “dashcam snitches”, in most cases they are helping police clamp out dangerous behaviour on the UK’s roads.

The most common offence recorded was careless or inattentive driving, making up three in five of all submitted incidents.

Red light offences account for around one in five and mobile phone use for one in six.

Approximately 34% of drivers have a dashcam installed.

“Dashcams are no longer just handy gadgets, they have become effective safety tools and crucial sources of evidence when incidents occur on the roads,” says Confused.com car insurance expert Rhydian Jones.

Footage can be submitted to the force’s Operation Snap, a response to the sheer amount of video and photographic evidence that people were submitting.

Confused.com has created a tool for uploading your videos.