Daily Express, on Climate, 28 October 2026

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UK households face £465 energy bills increase in January

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UK households face £465 energy bills increase in January but Budget set to help Help on rising energy bills is expected to be announced today. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments By Alex Evans , Deputy Audience Editor 09:38, Wed, Oct 28, 2026 Updated: 09:38, Wed, Oct 28, 2026 Energy bills are set to rocket £465 but help is coming (Image: Getty) Households are facing a 'nightmare' 27% rise in energy bills in January which will add £465 onto the average, typical use households' dual fuel energy bills - but help is set to be announced in the Budget today.

Money expert Martin Lewis met Chancellor John Healey this morning ahead of the Budget speech to Parliament, where the government already confirmed plans to axe from gas bills . Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT But Martin warned ITV's GMB viewers this morning that the real 'nightmare' is that Ofgem is set to hike average energy bills by another 27% in January following rises in the cost of wholesale gas, meaning the current £1,723 illustrative figure would rise by another £465.

However, Martin said that 'reading between the lines', the Chancellor hinted that further support for energy bills will be announced this afternoon. Get personal finance news, money saving tips and advice plus selcted offers and competitions I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family . Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over.

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . The MoneySavingExpert founder, who had been in No 11 on the morning of the fiscal statement, said on X: “I’ve just come out of a meeting with the Chancellor. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “The gas standing charge will be scrapped in 2027 (my guess, either for 1 Oct price cap or the 1 Jan 28 price cap).

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “Having campaigned against the moral hazard of standing charges for years, I’m pleased. “It’s currently £108 a year. That cost will be shifted onto unit rates. We don’t know how much yet, but I suspect just under 1p per kwH. “The Chancellor also said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is ‘trickier’ apparently and will take longer.” Mr Lewis said “about 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more”, with the dividing line “somewhere around 12,500 kilowatt hours of gas,” as he called for support for vulnerable higher users who will have to pay more.

He continued: “That’s all long-term. The biggest issue in energy right now is that we’re expecting a 27% rise in the price cap in January. “I asked the Chancellor whether he will be intervening on that. He told me I’d have to wait for the Budget, but reading between the lines, yes, there will be an announcement today. “Whether it’s an increase in the warm home discount, or whether it’s council tax (band-related), or whether it’s done via a payout for people in say council tax bands A-D as a proxy for household income as Rishi Sunak did who knows.”

Martin Lewis confirms £108 gas bills cut after standing charge change Labour's Cash ISA u-turn blasted as 'deeply misguided' as Reeves plan faces axe The Greens said Chancellor John Healey’s move to scrap standing charges on gas bills amounted to “tinkering”. A party spokesperson said: “Abolishing standing charges is more tinkering from a Government that is failing to take the bold action needed to end the cost-of-living crisis. “Energy bills have skyrocketed in recent years and are set to rise by hundreds of pounds again this winter.

“‘Hope’ is an easy thing to promise but will not be delivered by a business-as-usual Budget.” Martin Lewis Energy bills Ofgem John Healey Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments

Read the original article on express.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
What we found (3)

The Express reports an expected 27% January rise in the energy price cap, correctly tying it to wholesale gas costs, and Martin Lewis's account of his meeting with the Chancellor. In its own voice it tells readers that scrapping the gas standing charge will save anyone with a gas supply £108 a year, when the article itself says the cost moves onto unit rates and 40% of people will pay more. Its headline also turns Mr Lewis's guess about Budget help into a firm promise.

  1. Uses figures that mislead

    Serious

    “which will save anyone with a gas supply a total of £108 a year”

    Why this matters
    The words "will save anyone with a gas supply a total of £108 a year" present the gross standing charge as a net saving for every gas customer.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes every household with gas will be £108 a year better off when the charge goes.
    The context
    The article itself says the £108 will be shifted onto unit rates and that about 40% of people will pay more, with higher users losing out. The saving is neither universal nor £108 net.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“That cost will be shifted onto unit rates.”
    • Elsewhere in the article“about 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    The government will scrap the £108 gas standing charge, but the cost will move onto unit rates, so Martin Lewis estimates about 60% of households will pay less and 40% more.

  2. Headline goes beyond the article

    Minor

    “but Budget set to help”

    Why this matters
    The headline states "Budget set to help" as settled, pairing it with the January rise.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes the Budget is confirmed to bring help with the January increase.
    The context
    The only basis in the body is Martin Lewis's reading between the lines; the Chancellor told him to wait, and Mr Lewis did not know what form any help would take.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“He told me I'd have to wait for the Budget, but reading between the lines”
    • Elsewhere in the article“as Rishi Sunak did who knows”

    Show it in the article

  3. Uses a loaded word

    Minor

    “the hated standing charges”

    Why this matters
    The Express calls the charges "hated" in its own voice.
    The impression it gives
    A reader takes it as given that standing charges are universally despised and their removal is plainly good.
    The context
    The article shows the change creates losers as well as winners, since the cost moves onto unit rates and higher users will pay more.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“vulnerable higher users who will have to pay more”

    Show it in the article

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