Everything you need to know about the energy crisis if you're an Octopus customer

UK gas and electricity prices are set to soar from April 1 following a record breaking increase in the energy price cap.

Energy regulator Ofgem announced that the energy price cap, which is the maximum amount an energy company can charge an average customer, will increase by 54%. For an average household, this means that they will see an annual increase of £693 applied to their bills, although this will vary depending on how much energy your household uses.

Energy providers will be contacting customers this month to explain how these changes will affect them, with bills estimated to increase from £1,277 to £1,971 for an average household.

Read more:Everything you need to know about the energy crisis if you are a British Gas customer

The increase in energy bills is a result of an increased demand for gas coupled with a reduced supply, which has resulted in wholesale prices rising above the price cap. The increase has been influenced by the reopening of the economy after lockdown and the crisis in Russia.

But what does this mean if you are a customer with Octopus Energy? The renewable energy group is the UK's fourth biggest energy provider and is currently the only UK energy firm to offer its customers prices below the price cap. Here's everything you need to know.

Customers who are on the energy provider's Flexible Octopus tariff will see their gas and electricity prices rise in light of the fuel cap increase. Octopus will contact all customers who are affected and will continue to honour its current flexible prices until April 2.

If you are on a Flexible Octopus (variable) tariff, your unit rates are not fixed and can fluctuate depending on the changing costs of energy.

Octopus will email every customer who will be