OFGEM'S new energy price cap will be announced this Friday and is expected to introduce an 82% increase in the average cost of energy bills from October 1.

That's a rise in current annual household costs of £1971 for gas and electricity to £3582 - almost £300 per month.

A further hike of 19% is expected from January 1, taking average fuel bills to £355 per month.

The Scottish Government estimated these increases will plunge almost one million Scottish households into fuel poverty.

Almost a third of all households will be plunged into "extreme fuel poverty" - 700,000 households - by October unless the UK Government intervenes in our energy crisis.

Extreme fuel poverty is defined as a household forced to spend 20% or more of their net income to pay for energy, after their housing costs have been deducted.

An acute challenge for millions of Scots will be what to do if you can't afford your monthly direct debit for gas and electricity? Ofgem has said don't cancel your direct debit, but what can you do if you can't cover the full cost?

If you opt to make manual payments to quarterly energy bills you will likely pay a tariff 6% more expensive than your monthly direct debit.

That has always been inequitable and is something Ofgem should have stamped out a long time ago.

Sadly, it hasn't, and it's fair to say Ofgem has been a fairly useless regulator despite having a wide range of legal and economic powers.

if you get into arrears with your energy supplier this will have an adverse impact on your credit rating.

If you're in arrears, energy companies have an obligation to explore all possible reasonable and affordable repayment plans with you.

If a repayment plan can't be agreed your supplier requires a warrant from court to enable them to enter your home to fit a prepayment meter.

It is possible to oppose this, and you should get urgent free advice from a local law centre or money advice agency.

Many people now have smart meters, and these can be remotely switched to act as a prepayment credit meter.

Paying for energy by prepayment meter is more expensive than direct debit - again this is another obvious unfairness that Ofgem should have prohibited years ago but failed to do so.

The problem with prepayment meters is the scope for restricted energy usage and worse, the prospect of self-disconnection in the winter because you simply can't afford to top up.

Part of the problem with the Ofgem energy price cap is the massive hikes in daily standing charges.

Standing charges pay for the infrastructure of how gas or electricity reaches your home.

The irony is much of our energy infrastructure was built back when the National Grid and energy companies were publicly owned.

For Alan MacIntosh of AdviceScotland.com the real problem we face is not an army of people joining a "Don't Pay campaign", but millions not being able to pay, he said: "The reality is many people will not be able to maintain their direct debit payments, so debt charities will need to do more than warn people of the consequences of cancelling direct debits, they need to provide people with information on what to do if they can't pay their bills.

"The reality is most people will have competing payments to make each month. If they don't have enough to pay all these bills, they will need to decide who to pay and who not to pay.

"Although credit cards and personal loans don't take priority over energy bills, payments to your rent, mortgage, council tax and car finance agreements will.

"This is because if you fall behind on these you could be facing eviction or wage and bank account arrestment or even losing your car and incurring further debts that you hadn't planned for.

"Where cars are vital for work, this may mean losing a source of income."

People should always seek advice from local money advisers where they find themselves unable to meet all household bills, as making the best decision will always have to be done on a case-by-case basis.

You can get free online money advice from debtnavigator.scot.

many people's credit ratings will be damaged, and this will affect their ability to obtain credit in the future, unless the UK Government intervenes.

We need regulators like the Financial Conduct Authority and Ofgem to require leaders and energy suppliers to treat their customers with the same compassion and flexibility they did during Covid-19.

They need to offer forbearance in the form of payment breaks.