LONDON — Britain’s energy regulator announced Friday it will raise its main cap on consumer energy bills to an average £3,549 from £1,971 a year, as campaign groups, think tanks and politicians call on the government to tackle a cost-of-living- crisis.

The price cap limits the standard charge energy suppliers can bill domestic customers for their combined electricity and gas bill in England, Scotland and Wales, but is recalculated by Ofgem throughout the year to reflect wholesale market prices and other industry costs.

The cap does not apply in Northern Ireland, where suppliers can increase prices at any point after getting approval from a different regulator.

Gas prices have soared to record levels over the last year as higher global demand has been intensified in Europe by low gas storage levels and a drop in pipeline imports from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. This has also increased electricity prices

Earlier this month, Ofgem announced that it will recalculate the cap every three months rather than every six months to reflect current market volatility. 

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