British households face average annual energy bills surging above ￡5,000 next year, according to the latest forecast, which will heap further pressure on the government to intervene to ease the spiralling cost of living crisis.

The warning from consultancy Auxilione follows a steep rise in wholesale British gas prices this week and comes as ministers meet electricity generators in Downing Street on Thursday morning. The talks will focus on how to respond to the impact of rising wholesale energy prices driven primarily by Russia’s squeeze gas on supplies to Europe.

The price cap, which governs gas and electricity bills for the vast majority of UK households, has already jumped to ￡1,971 from ￡1,277 this year. Earlier this week, another forecast suggested it would hit ￡4,420 next April, more than three times the level it was at the start of 2022.