The Bank of England’s monthly inflation report highlights that despite a fall in gas prices, continuing rises in other costs to the supplier will mean that households will end up paying more for their domestic energy use, according to uSwitch.

Lucy Darch, energy expert at uSwitch.com, said: “This is very worrying news for consumers, and could set alarm bells ringing. In the last six years, household energy bills have rocketed by £599 or 91% – from £660 a year in 2006 to £1259.

“With winter approaching, any further price hikes would put more pressure on many households, especially the third already finding their current energy bill unaffordable.”

uSwitch have pointed out that although there is no guarantee of prices increasing, consumers should stay alert and ensure that they are up-to-date with what are their options.

Darch advised: “Consumers should ensure they are paying as little as possible for your energy and also look at using less by being more energy efficient.

“With free insulation still available and more than £300 between the cheapest and most expensive plans on the market, consumers have a great chance of cutting their bills.

“And with the cheapest plan being a fixed plan (First Utility iSave Fixed V3 – fixed till end of next year) they can also protect themselves against any future increases, without the premium that would normally be associated.”

This comes at a time when the big 6 energy providers come under pressure to reduce their prices at a time when households are struggling to make ends meet with increasing prices.

The annual report on fuel poverty by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, has predicted that there will be nearly 4m households in England alone that will be in fuel poverty.

This was estimated in 2010, when prices were cheaper than they are in the current year.

A household is said to be fuel poor if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth.