Martin Lewis' urgent advice to everyone on energy price cap

The financial guru and his team at MoneySavingExpert (MSE) are urging Brits to act fast to reduce the impact of soaring energy bills - with one fan revealing she had saved a whopping £468 per year

Martin Lewis is urging action as millions of Brits prepare for a tough winter of rocketing energy bills. It comes as the Ofgem price cap shot up by around 10% on October 1.

The bump means the average family could see their annual bill for electricity and gas soaring to an eye-watering £1,717, with the cap remaining until December 31. Yet TV journalist Martin Lewis and his team of financial gurus at MoneySavingExpert (MSE) are now encouraging people to take decisive action to lessen this financial sting.

They claim their advice even saved one fan an impressive £468 per year. However, acting fast is crucial.

In the latest MSE newsletter, Martin explained: "Last week, the Energy [Pants] Price Cap, which dictates the rate eight in 10 homes in Eng, Scot and Wales pay, rose by 10% - meaning most people will pay 10% more too. Yet, for now, the deals you can compare and switch to are far cheaper."

The energy price cap is the 'maximum amount energy suppliers can charge you for each unit of energy and standing charge if you're on a standard variable tariff', according to Ofgem. The figure accounts for typical household energy use while also ensuring 'that prices for people on a standard variable tariff (default tariff) are fair and that they reflect the cost of energy'.

However, Martin Lewis has slammed the energy price cap as a 'pants cap', while stressing that Britain's energy market is 'broken' in an interview with the BBC. According to The Mirror, he said: "What we have now is a time-lagged price cap, where the price cap is going up when though wholesale rates are coming down right now.

"The reason this is important is, while the price cap is time-lagged, the switchable deals, they are able to take advantage of the current short-term lower wholesale rates. It’s a pants cap - you shouldn’t be on it."

To escape the staggering costs, he's advising Brits to switch energy providers now. This is what MSE reader Sharon did, saving her an impressive £468 per year.

Join the Money Saving Club WhatsApp channel aimed at saving you money and powered by the best content from Reach's national and regional titles

The first step is to check if your bills are impacted by the default capped tariff, which only affects households in England, Scotland and Wales that haven't switched recently. The MSE team suggest using their Cheap Energy Club comparison tool to figure this out, though you can ask your supplier too. If you are among the unlucky ones affected by the price cap, it's then worth searching around for cheaper deals.

The team at MSE explain that some of the best deals have 'started to be pulled', so you'll need to make this an urgent priority. OVO Energy, Octopus and Outfox The Market are currently among the firms offering better prices, they claim.

In fact, new Outfox The Market customers can reportedly save as much as '9.6%' compared with today's price cap. Martin Lewis' energy update adds: "Overall, if those predictions are correct, on average the Cap over the next 12 [months] will be almost the same as it is now, so far more costly than a cheap fix."