Energy bills: What help will I get now?

Energy bills for a typical household in Britain will remain at £2,500 until the end of June, the government has announced.

Typical bills had been due to rise to £3,000 a year from April, but will now remain at £2,500 for another three months.

The decision had been widely expected, with falling wholesale energy prices sharply cutting the cost to the government of offering support.

Most households were also getting a £400 winter discount, but that additional help will not continue past the end of March.

A price cap is set every three months by Ofgem, the energy industry's regulator. It sets the maximum price suppliers can charge households per unit of energy on a standard - or default - tariff.

However, after prices soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government announced a lower energy price guarantee would temporarily replace the cap. It stands at £2,500 and had been scheduled to rise to £3,000 a year for a typical household from April.

The government has now announced that help will continue at the same rateand bills will stay around their current levels for the next three months.

The energy price guarantee is scheduled to be in place until April 2024. It applies to all households in England, Scotland and Wales, with "the same level of support" in Northern Ireland.

The calculations for a typical household is based on a direct debit customer using 12,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity a year.

A kilowatt hour is a unit of energy used to calculate your bill.

However, most households aren't typical.

Bills are based on how much energy you actually use, which depends on the number of people, the type of property and its energy efficiency.

From April, some groups across the UK will receive extra help:

What help is the government providing with energy bills?

In recent months global energy prices have been falling, and experts predict cheaper prices for households later this year.

Analysts at Cornwall Insight think the energy price cap will fall to £2,153 in July, and remain close to that level for the rest of the year.

That would make the government's energy price guarantee redundant by July.

Cornwall Insight says households could once again be able to shop around for the best deal.

A scheme running between November and March rewards households and businesses using less peak-time electricity.

Customers need a smart meter to sign up for the trial, which will run on 12 "test days".

People who don't use use high-energy appliances such as washing machines during a set hour of each test day will get up to £3 per kilowatt hour off their bill.

Under the energy bill relief scheme:

The scheme applies to all non-domestic energy customers in England, Scotland and Wales, with a parallel scheme in Northern Ireland.

Unlike domestic customers, businesses were only promised help for six months until March 2023.

Support for firms after this will be much less generous.

Under a new scheme, firms will get a discount on wholesale prices, rather than costs being capped.

Heavy energy-using sectors, like glass, ceramics and steelmakers, will get a larger discount than others.

Those in Northern Ireland are receiving a single payment of £600, more than in the rest of the UK, because of the widespread use of heating oil.

Eight million low-income households who get certain benefits or tax credits have received £650 in two payments.

Pensioner households got £300 and some disabled people were paid £150.

This help was being partly funded by a temporary windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

Vulnerable families can also claim help through the Household Support Fund, and the Warm Home Discount scheme.