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Highlights:
- Energy bills are already soaring, and there's no relief in sight anytime soon for Brits.
- Experts have predicted that the bills may exceed £5,000 next year.
There's no relief in sight anytime soon for Brits struggling with high energy bills. They are set to rise in October, but experts continue to predict new highs frequently. In what would worry energy users, the latest forecast has indicated that energy bills are expected to hit a whopping £5,000 per year for the average UK household next year.
According to independent energy consultants at Auxilione, the country's energy regulator, Ofgem, could be forced to raise the energy price cap for average households to £5,038 per year in the second quarter of 2023. This is £200 more than earlier predictions.
For January next year, Auxilione forecasted the bills to hit £4,467.
Image source: © Beerredhot01 | Megapixl.com
The latest prediction comes days after consultancy Cornwall Insight stated that the bills are expected to reach £4,266 per year in the first three months of 2023. The firm added the bills might hit £4,426 in the subsequent quarter.
Notably, ministers are expected to hold discussions with utility firms to find solutions to bring down bills ahead of the bleak winter.
In the wake of this information, let us check out some London-listed utility stocks that are likely to be impacted.
ContourGlobal plc (LON: GLO)
ContourGlobal is a power generation business and has offered a quarterly dividend of 4.0536 pence per share to its shareholders for the quarter ended 30 June 2022. It'll be paid next month in September. Holding a market cap of £1,688.08 million, the stock has provided a return of 28.30% in the past year, while the year-to-date return has reached 34.06%. As of 1:17 pm GMT+1 on Thursday, the stock price stood at GBX 257.00.
National Grid Plc (LON: NG.)
The UK-based electricity and gas supplier, National Grid holds a market cap of £41,570.57 million, and it is a constituent of the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. It has delivered an EPS of 0.65 and a yearly return of 19.29% to investors as of Thursday. Shares of National Grid traded 0.35% lower at GBX 1,135.00 as of 1:21 pm GMT+1 on 11 August.
Centrica Plc (LON: CNA)
The energy services and solutions company owns British Gas, UK's largest energy and home services firm. It also owns brands like Centrica Hive and Bord Gais Energy. With a market cap of £4,697.73 million, the FTSE 100 constituent currently has a 12-month return of 60.24% and a year-to-date return of 10.46%. With an EPS of 0.21, the shares were trading at GBX 78.98, down 0.68% as of 1:25 pm GMT+1 on 11 August.
Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on market trends and is of limited scope without any in-depth fundamental valuation or technical analysis. Any interest in stocks or sectors should be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the associated risks.
