HOUSEHOLDS in Ceredigion face a rise of nearly £1,000 a year in the energy bills from April.

Energy regulator Ofgem announced earlier today a 54 per cent increase in the energy price cap, with the average UK household facing an increase of £693.

In Ceredigion however, the increase is likely to be £972 – the biggest in Wales, with homes in the county facing an average cost of £2,064, according to research by the Welsh Liberal Democrats into ONS data.

Other parts of rural Wales will also be hit hard with Gwynedd residents facing a £904 rise on average with Powys residents paying £848 more and Carmarthenshire residents seeing bills rise by £853.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and MS for Mid and West Wales, Jane Dodds, represents 5/6 of the worst hit areas, stated that the figures show the “absolute energy bill nightmare” being faced by families across Wales while oil and gas firms are making record profits.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for a windfall tax on the super profits of gas and oil producers and traders to fund support for vulnerable households struggling to pay their energy bills. The party’s proposed cost of living rescue package would save struggling families an estimated £1,000 a year. It would include further increasing and expanding the Warm Homes Discount, scrapping the planned National Insurance tax hike and ensuring low-income families can access cheaper broadband deals.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: “People across Wales are facing an energy bill nightmare, with some of the worst affected areas being Conservative held seats.

“But instead of taxing the record profits of oil and gas companies to fund a package of support, Rishi Sunak is simply spreading the pain for families over the coming years. These plans are playing Russian roulette with taxpayers’ money, gambling that energy prices will fall instead of investing in keeping people’s bills down.

“The Liberal Democrats’ cost of living rescue package would wipe almost £1,000 off the bills of struggling families, funded through a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on the super profits of oil and gas companies. We would scrap the Conservatives’ unfair tax hike, offer support to the most vulnerable and insulate more homes to slash their energy bills in the long term.

“Sadly, it seems many Welsh Conservative MPs are more interested in protecting the large profits of global oil and gas companies rather than providing support to families struggling to meet ends met up and down the country.

"It is also an insult to take £150 of a family’s council tax while hiking their taxes by an average of £600, giving with one hand while taking away more with the other.

“Nethertheless, the money that will come to the Welsh Government via Barnett from today’s announcement on council tax rebates, needs to be used by the Welsh Government to help people suffering rising costs in Wales."

During 2021 Ceredigion Citizens Advice received more than double the number of calls from people concerned about energy debt compared to the previous year.

Energy advice supervisor at Citizens Advice Ceredigion, William Jones, said that his team were seeing evidence of the impact of price rises in electricity, gas, oil and LPG.

He said: “People are facing the heat or eat dilemma.

“People are underheating their homes, putting their physical and mental well being at risk. Increases from April will put even more strain on people’s financial, mental and physical well-being.”

The rise in energy costs has been put down to a record increase in global gas prices.