Energy bills rise for 9m homes amid snow, wind and rain alerts
The Guardian|January 01, 2025
Nine million homes will face higher energy bills from today as Britain braces for freezing temperatures and snow warnings for the new year period.
Jillian Ambrose
Energy bills rise for 9m homes amid snow, wind and rain alerts

The average energy bill for households across England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% from New Year's Day to £1,738 a year for a typical household after the energy regulator raised its cap on gas and electricity charges.

The rising price cap is expected to pile pressure on household finances during the coldest months of the year when millions of homes have already racked up record levels of debt to their energy suppliers.

Britain will enter the new year with a series of weather warnings for heavy rain, wind and snow. By the weekend temperatures are expected to fall below zero across many areas, which fuel poverty campaigners fear will take a toll on the more than 8 million customers living in cold, damp homes.

This story is from the January 01, 2025 edition of The Guardian.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January 01, 2025 edition of The Guardian.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIANView All
This is basically civil war' Palestinian Authority raid has West Bank living in fear
The Guardian

This is basically civil war' Palestinian Authority raid has West Bank living in fear

AMid the echo of gunfire and explosions, 23-year-old Mariam picked her way through puddles on the unpaved streets of the refugee camp adjacent to the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, determined to get to a university class.

time-read
4 mins  |
January 06, 2025
Gaza UN official warns of further collapse of social order if Israel ends cooperation
The Guardian

Gaza UN official warns of further collapse of social order if Israel ends cooperation

Social order in Gaza is likely to collapse further if Israel goes ahead with its threat to end all cooperation with the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, Louise Wateridge, its senior emergency officer, has warned.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 06, 2025
Greece mourns 'noble politician' after former PM's death aged 88
The Guardian

Greece mourns 'noble politician' after former PM's death aged 88

Tributes have been paid to Greece's former socialist prime minister Costas Simitis, who guided Greece into the eurozone and took the steps to ensure it was ready to host the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 06, 2025
Austria's president 'to discuss coalition with leader of far right'
The Guardian

Austria's president 'to discuss coalition with leader of far right'

Austria's president has said he will meet the leader of the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ), amid speculation that the pro-Kremlin, anti-Islam party will be tasked with trying to form a government after centrist parties failed to find agreement.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 06, 2025
Sarkozy goes on trial over alleged corruption pact with Libya's former dictator
The Guardian

Sarkozy goes on trial over alleged corruption pact with Libya's former dictator

The French former president Nicolas Sarkozy will go on trial today over the biggest political financing scandal in modern French history, in which he is alleged to have received millions of euros in illegal election campaign funding from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 06, 2025
Taking root Volunteers help plant new forest in Somerset
The Guardian

Taking root Volunteers help plant new forest in Somerset

On a chilly day recently under stubborn grey skies, a band of green-fingered volunteers can be found in Somerset's Chew valley with spades in their hands and dirt under their fingernails.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 06, 2025
The Guardian

Bill suggests paid leave for victims of domestic abuse

Domestic abuse victims would have access to paid time off work to help them stay safe under a proposed law to be tabled in parliament.

time-read
1 min  |
January 06, 2025
Prisoner who took MoJ to court says he is still isolated 20 months later
The Guardian

Prisoner who took MoJ to court says he is still isolated 20 months later

A prisoner who brought a legal challenge in April 2023 alleging he had been held in solitary confinement in England for more than two years has said he remains in isolation 20 months later because the judge has not given her decision in the case.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 06, 2025
Seal Births Fall on Norfolk Coast as Herds May Be Moving South
The Guardian

Seal Births Fall on Norfolk Coast as Herds May Be Moving South

More than 3,200 grey seal pups were born along a section of the Norfolk coast this season - down 10% on last year, possibly owing to the seals finding new breeding grounds elsewhere.

time-read
1 min  |
January 06, 2025
'As though they belong' Sargent's many 'dollar princesses' united at last
The Guardian

'As though they belong' Sargent's many 'dollar princesses' united at last

Margaret \"Daisy\" Leiter was 19 when, in 1898, she was painted by the most celebrated society portraitist of the age, John Singer Sargent.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 06, 2025