The Government’s £9.1bn will not take away all the pain. The number of families in ‘fuel stress’, defined as spending at least 10pc of their family budget on energy bills, will double to five million, estimates the Resolution Foundation.

Bills may yet climb further. The market currently indicates wholesale prices will stay high for the rest of the year, while any Russian invasion of Ukraine could add to price pressure. 

Gas bills could balloon further

“We are not seeing any indications that prices will necessarily come down very quickly,” Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said last week, though he stressed the uncertainty of predicting global gas markets.

Martin Young, senior utilities analyst at Investec, says the price cap could increase again in October, absorbing any relief. “Indeed, a repayable £200 rebate on electricity bills is arguably a political conjuring trick,” he added.

Cornwall Insight, the energy market analysis firm, warned last week of increasingly volatile wholesale energy prices from 2026 and beyond unless there is more investment in energy storage, energy efficiency, and market resilience, to help smooth out intermittent wind and solar power as coal and nuclear power stations close.

The International Energy Agency, meanwhile, has warned of delays to major natural gas projects adding to pressure on gas prices.

The 23 household suppliers now left in the market (excluding Bulb in special administration), down from highs of more than 70 in 2018, may be helped in the short term by plans to update the price cap every three months rather than every six. 

Some suppliers still believe it should be removed altogether, with vulnerable consumers protected by a special social tariff instead.

“Everyone is running around trying to invent various schemes [to help the energy market],” said a source at one supplier. “What the Government haven’t woken up to is the price cap is fundamentally flawed.”

That seems unlikely to happen any time soon, with the Government announcing in July plans to be able to keep it in place beyond its initial end date of 2023. “It needs to change, it needs to adjust more quickly, [but] we do think it’s the right instrument,” Brearley added.

The state-backed rebate announced on Thursday takes Government intervention in the market further still. “This is one more step back to effective state control of the industry,” says Sir Dieter.