根据凯文·皮奇（Kevin Peachey）的报道，家庭能源费用预计将在1月份大幅上涨，据BBC获得的数据显示，平均每年的账单金额将增加276英镑。
By Kevin Peachey Household energy prices are set to soar in January, with a typical annual bill forecast to jump by £276, figures shared with the BBC reveal.
预计的16%涨幅将在一年中最寒冷的季节影响到数百万家庭，这也将是四年来账单金额的最大涨幅。
The 16% predicted increase would hit millions of households at the coldest time of year, and would mark the biggest rise in bills for four years.
这一预测来自咨询公司Cornwall Insight，发布时间恰好在能源监管机构Ofgem于10月实施的电价上限政策生效的前一天。这一预测给政府带来了更大的压力，要求政府为那些难以负担高昂能源费用的家庭提供援助。
The forecast from consultancy Cornwall Insight comes a day before prices go up under regulator Ofgem's October price cap and puts increased pressure on the government to support those who will struggle to pay.
与此同时，能源供应商EDF的首席执行官西蒙娜·罗西（Simone Rossi）警告称，英国正“走向第二次能源危机”，并呼吁延长目前于周四生效的电力增值税减免政策。
Meanwhile, the boss of supplier EDF Simone Rossi has warned the UK is "walking into a second energy crisis" and called for an extension to the VAT cut on electricity which kicks in on Thursday.
在英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士，约有2000万户家庭使用由Ofgem设定的可变电价机制（即电价会根据市场供需波动而变化）。根据这一机制，每单位天然气和电力的价格都受到上限限制。
About 20 million households in England, Scotland and Wales are on variable energy tariffs set by Ofgem's price cap, which puts a maximum price on each unit of gas and electricity.
这些家庭在周四将面临4%的涨价，相当于每年增加约60英镑的开支，或每月增加5英镑；如果这种涨价趋势持续一年，对于同时使用电力和天然气并通过直接扣款方式支付费用的普通家庭来说，年账单金额将达到1723英镑。
Those homes will see a 4% increase in prices on Thursday, the equivalent of about £60 per year – or £5 per month – taking an annual bill to £1,723 for the typical household using both electricity and gas and paying by direct debit if this level was sustained for a year.
如果没有政府的增值税减免政策，涨幅可能会更高（因为该政策每年可为普通家庭节省约45英镑的开支）。
That rise would have been higher without the government's VAT cut, which knocks the equivalent of about £45 a year off a typical bill.
不过，Cornwall Insight的预测显示，1月份的账单涨幅可能会更大。该公司表示，最新的预测显示平均每年的账单金额可能上升至1999英镑。
But forecasts show a far greater increase is possible for bills in January. Cornwall Insight said its latest forecast suggests the typical annual bill would rise to £1,999.
Cornwall Insight的首席顾问克雷格·洛瑞（Craig Lowrey）指出：“这些涨价将对家庭造成沉重负担。1月份对许多人来说本来就是个艰难的月份——天气寒冷，人们的银行账户也尚未从圣诞节期间的支出中恢复过来。”
The forecast 16% rise will come at the worst time of year, according to Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight. "These prices are going to hit households hard. January is already a difficult month for many, with cold weather and bank balances still recovering from Christmas," he said.
预计天然气价格将会上涨，这是由于中东地区的冲突导致天然气供应中断，进而使得欧洲的天然气储备量降至历史低水平所致。该预测机构表示，重新补充天然气储备可能会带来高昂的开支——这些开支“将持续到冬季之后很久”。
The predicted rise is the result of disruption of gas supplies owing to the conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting low gas storage levels in Europe. Rebuilding those stocks could mean high bills "well beyond the winter", the forecaster said.
Cornwall Insight在能源价格预测方面有着良好的记录，在整个行业和政界都备受尊重；类似的预测也得到了其他能源供应商的认同。
Cornwall Insight has a strong track record on forecasts and is widely respected across the industry and politics. Similar forecasts have been made by energy suppliers.
不过，这目前还只是一个预测而已。英国能源监管机构 Ofgem 将直到 11 月底才会公布 1 月份的天然气价格变动情况。
This remains only a prediction at this stage. Ofgem will not announce the actual January price change until late November.
虽然中东地区紧张局势的缓解可能会减轻消费者的负担，但 1 月份天然气价格的制定工作已经进行到一半了。由于目前没有缓和的迹象，也没有国际能源价格下降的迹象，因此对于那些没有签订固定价格协议的用户来说，价格上涨的可能性非常大。Lowrey 表示，1 月份价格上涨“几乎是必然的”。
While an easing of tensions in the Middle East could lessen the pain for billpayers, the price setting period for the January cap is already halfway through. With little sign of a truce or lower international energy costs, a big increase in prices for those not on a fixed tariff looks highly likely. Lowrey said a January rise was "all but certain". That will be tough for people like Aaron Richards from Maidenhead.
对于像来自 Maidenhead 的 Aaron Richards 这样的人来说，这种情况将非常艰难：“我尽量减少外卖的摄入量，多加班工作，并努力更好地安排预算，但说实话，我们本不应该面临这样的困境。”他说。
"I try to eat less takeaways, work more overtime, and try to budget a bit better, but at the same time, we shouldn't have to," he said. Aaron drives a diesel car, and so is paying record high prices to travel to and from work.
Aaron 驾驶着一辆柴油车，因此他在上下班的交通费用上付出了创纪录的高额费用。他说：“我感觉所有东西的价格都在上涨……这种情况还会持续到什么时候呢？总得有人站出来解决问题吧。”
"I just feel like everything's going up. How far is it going to go? Someone's got to step in," he said. "I know people who can't afford to heat their house and they're struggling at the moment.
“我认识一些人，他们连取暖的费用都负担不起，现在正生活在困境中。住房和生活必需品本应该是每个人都能拥有的基本保障，但这些却成了难题。”多年来，国内能源价格一直居高不下，导致一些人积累了大量的未付账单。
Housing and eating are two of life's essentials that everyone should have. It shouldn't be a challenge to have any of those things." Years of relatively high domestic energy bills have left some people facing big sums in unpaid bills.
Ofgem 最近的数据显示，消费者们总共拖欠供应商超过 50 亿英镑的账单和费用。该监管机构已经提出了一个债务减免方案，但相关倡导者一直在敦促他们尽快实施这一方案，并呼吁政府提供资金以支持其落地。
Recent data from Ofgem showed that customers collectively owe more than £5bn in unpaid bills and charges to suppliers. The regulator has a proposed debt relief scheme on the table, and campaigners keep telling them to get on with it, urging the government to provide funding for it to be implemented.
“这种状况是不可持续的，不仅对家庭来说如此，对整个市场也是如此，”燃料贫困救助机构 National Energy Action 的首席执行官亚当·斯科勒（Adam Scorer）表示。
"This is unsustainable, not just for households but also for the market as a whole," said Adam Scorer, chief executive of fuel poverty charity National Energy Action.
“政府预算必须为那些在这个冬天面临最大风险的家庭提供额外的、有针对性的支持，同时采取措施解决他们的能源债务问题，并改善那些能源使用效率最低的住宅。”呼吁政府提供帮助的还包括能源供应商 EDF Energy 的首席执行官西蒙娜·罗西（Simone Rossi）。
"The Budget must deliver additional targeted support for households most at risk this winter, alongside action to tackle energy debt and improve the least energy-efficient homes." Among others calling for government help for struggling billpayers is Simone Rossi, chief executive of supplier EDF Energy.
在西蒙娜·罗西接受 BBC 《Big Boss Interview》播客的独家采访中表示：“我们实际上正面临着第二次严重的能源危机——而上一次危机发生在仅仅四年前。”她建议政府将电费的增值税减免比例从 5% 提高到 0%，并延长这一政策的实施时间，使其在原定于四月到期的之后继续有效。
Speaking exclusively to the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast, Mr Rossi said: "We are actually walking into a second significant energy crisis after the one we experienced just four years ago." He said that the government should extend the cut in VAT on electricity bills from 5% to 0% beyond April, when it is due to expire.
她还敦促政府批准在阿伯丁海岸开发新的 Jackdaw 气田以及在设得兰群岛开发 Rosebank 油田的项目。
He also urged ministers to give the go-ahead to the new Jackdaw gas field off the coast of Aberdeen, and the Rosebank oil field off Shetland.
政府一直表示会考虑各种办法，为面临生活成本压力的民众提供帮助。
The government has consistently said that it will consider ways to offer breathing space to billpayers on the cost of living.