2022

Octopus Energy will offer free electricity to its 1.4 million smart meter customers who can hit electricity reduction targets during peak hours. We've full info on who can get it and how to apply below.  

About two million EDF Energy customers on standard tariffs will see gas and electricity bills jump by a typical £693 a year from April, after it announced it's raising prices by the maximum allowed under the new price cap.

Some 100,000 low income households and pregnant women currently in receipt of 'NHS Healthy Start' vouchers need to actively apply for a new prepaid card to receive their payments from 10 March, as the scheme will stop sending out paper vouchers.  

The Treasury has corrected information on its website regarding the forthcoming increase in national insurance after a tweet from MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis calling it "misleading" went viral. 

Energy regulator Ofgem has announced today that it will be reviewing whether to update the energy price cap more frequently in future as a result of the "unprecedented rise in wholesale market prices and volatility". This follows its decision yesterday to increase the price cap by 54% – adding a typical £700 a year to the bills of 22 million households from April.

Martin Lewis explains how a new £200 energy bill loan offered by the Government really works in his latest video. The initiative was announced this week in a bid to help households with the rising cost of living, following confirmation that typical energy bills will rise by £693 a year from 1 April. But there's lots of confusion about the loan, which MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin debunks below.  

Average household water and sewerage bills in England and Wales are set to rise by around £7 a year (1.7%) from April, it has been announced today. But prices will vary depending on where you live and some will see much larger increases. Meanwhile, bills in Scotland will rise by a higher 4.2% on average. 

Waitrose has again changed the terms and conditions of its loyalty card scheme, and this time round it will result in most shoppers no longer being able to get a free newspaper when using their myWaitrose card at the checkout from 23 February. 

Martin Lewis looks at the big question of whether households should do nothing and stay on the energy price cap or fix their tariff on the back of the unprecedented announcement that the cap will shoot up by 54% in April. Watch the latest clip from The Martin Lewis Money Show Live for the MoneySavingExpert.com founder's view on what to do below (and for an explainer on the new £200 'energy bills rebate', see Martin's two-minute new energy loan video).

In a new video, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis analyses the extortionate new energy price cap and the introduction of a new financial support package offering an energy rebate and council tax discounts to try to ease the problems caused by a spike in the cost of living. Martin also explains what the latest increase to base rates means for households. Watch the video below.