Scots will still be paying hundreds of pounds more a year on energy despite the new Ofgem price cap.

Ofgem announced today that it will drop its cap on how much suppliers can charge from July 1, from £1.690 to £1,568, which is a drop of 7.2%.

However, despite the average bill falling by £122 per year, it will still be £430 more than what households were being charged before the energy crisis begun in autumn 2021.

It has also been suggested that this new price cap will rise again in October and will remain roughly the same in January 2025.

Hazel Knowles, energy lead for charity Advice Direct Scotland, said: “Lower gas and electricity prices will come as a relief for households, but bills remain significantly higher than they were before the energy crisis began.

“Many people are stilling struggling with the cost of living and are saddled with energy-related debts, and there is no sign of energy prices falling to pre-crisis levels any time soon.”

She added: “This is why we have been calling for a UK-wide social energy tariff, which would go some way to fixing the country’s broken energy market and lifting people out of fuel poverty.”

The charity, which runs an energy advice service, are campaigning for the UK Government to put this policy in place as it would mean that the most vulnerable customers would be able to get the cheapest deals.

They propose that the new tariff could be determined by things such as whether household members receive benefits or are on low incomes.

Ofgem’s new cap also puts Scotland at a disadvantage as it will mean that households in southern Scotland will pay 63.33 pence per day on electricity, while people in London will only pay 40.79.

Those in Scotland who have access to gas will see the unit rate drop to 5.4 pence per kilowatt-hour, whereas the large population of Scots who lack this access will need to pay 21.83 pence for electricity.

Advice Direct Scotland wants households to review their spending on energy and check to see if there are better tariffs available.

However, they are concerned that some of the current best value deals by suppliers are aimed at more affluent households, while some are only available to those with a smart meter.

Ms Knowles advised: “Taking regular meter readings and checking the level of your direct debit are as important as ever.

“If you have a smart meter, ensure its working.

“The important thing to remember is that nobody should struggle alone.”