Energy bills could drop below £3,000 within months, Ofgem boss claims

The energy price cap might drop below the £3,000 mark as early as April, the boss of Ofgem has said in a prediction that could save the Government billions of pounds - though

subsidies would still be required for vulnerable households. Jonathan Brearley said that it was 'possible' that falls in the wholesale cost of gas and electricity could mean

that bills would fall below that level for the average household. It is more optimistic than recent projections from independent analysts at Cornwall Insight, who last week

forecast the price cap would still top £3,200 in April before falling significantly in July. If the price cap falls a little below £3,000 for the average household in April

it would only save customers a small amount as they were set to pay £3,000 anyway under the Government's price guarantee. It could however save billions in taxpayer money.

The Government has promised to pay suppliers to make up the difference between what they are allowed to charge customers and the price they have to pay to buy energy. It

comes as National Grid rolled out its Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) for the first time on Monday to reward people for cutting power between 5pm and 6pm. More than a

million households have already signed up to the measure, with 26 energy suppliers, including British Gas, EDF, Eon and Octopus Energy participating. But some consumers

complained they'd been awarded a paltry sum for cutting their energy consumption.