BBC Breakfast viewers were left outraged by a report on the increase to the energy price cap as they slammed the government and calling the report “lies”. Interim CEO of Ofgem (the energy regulator) Tim Jarvis appeared on the show to discuss the increase, which will hit people in their pockets from July, and will see the cost of gas and electricity rise by 13% a year. Jarvis blamed the events in the Middle East for the huge increase, but viewers were not convinced and took to X to vent their anger at the situation.

“Utter lies,” one raged. “Not because of the war, stop blaming everyone else, it’s Labour’s fault with green tariffs on our energy bills and blocking North Sea drilling, making us reliant on imported oil and gas. THIS IS ALL @UKLabour’s fault,” another fumed. A third chimed in: “The BBC ignore the effects of the green taxes!.. We can’t afford net zero…”

A fourth furiously questioned: “Nothing to do with the failed net zero? Nothing to do with rising employee costs caused by the government? Nothing to do with raising the minimum wage so employers have to raise prices? Nothing to do with a failed OFGEM? Just finger point elsewhere hope the public fall for it.”

A fifth shared: “Tim kept a straight face while blaming high gas prices due to Iran war even though 23m out of 29m homes are powered by renewables. Tim is part of the scam where green tax makes energy more expensive.”

Meanwhile, a sixth was clearly outraged, writing in all capitals: “ANOTHER PAID UNELECTED POLITICIAN!.. DONT BLAME GAS PRICES ON THE MIDDLE EAST! ..ITS AN EXCUSE!.. WE HAVE OUR OWN GAS IN THE MORTH SEA!.. STOP YOUR FAKE STARMER PROPAGANDA… NOBODY BELIEVES YOU ANYMORE!”

Speaking to show hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent, Jarvis acknowledged: “It is a big increase. It’s very unwelcome for households. It is driven almost entirely by the events in the Middle East and global gas prices, which have led to the increase today.

“What I would say is this is an increase in the cap, so there are around four out of ten households on fixed deals, so they will be unaffected by today’s announcement at the moment, and clearly there are opportunities for people to save money and shop around…” he said.

Offering some suggestions that could help people absorb the cost, he said: “I think there are a number of things people can do to try and insulate themselves from this volatility that we are seeing in these Gulf global markets…The first thing they can think about doing is contacting their supplier and seeing whether it is worth fixing [their price]. Now, clearly, there are risks with prices going up and down, but that will insulate you from these changes.

“The other big thing that people can do is look at how they pay for their energy. We’ve still got around 7 million people who are paying for the bills on receipt of the bill. But if you do it that way, it is much more expensive than if you pay by direct debit or a smart pay-as-you-go system.

“You can save yourself around £140 a year by switching the method of payment. So I think switching the method of payment, looking for the deals on the market and trying to make sure you can safely control your energy use [could help].”