Some households in Britain may begin to see their energy bills rise due to new changes coming into force on Sunday, January 1.
However, not every household will be affected by the changes equally and differences will occur depending on which part of the country they live in and how they pay for gas and electricity. The hike will hit hardest for those who live in North Wales and Merseyside who don't pay with direct debit. For this group, bills are set to rise by more than £5 per month between January and April. Meanwhile, bills will decrease for those in the north of England - averaging at around £3.90 less. The changes are made to the amount a person's energy suppliers charge per unit of gas and electricity they supply.
For those who pay on standard credit, bills will go up by around £3.90 a month on average, ranging from around £2.60 in the north of England to £5.60 in the Mersey and North Wales region. Prepayment meter customers will see an average bill increase of £1.50, while those who pay direct debit will only see an increase of 2p.
The Ofgem price cap has always been set at slightly different levels based on where someone lives and how they pay.