Martin Lewis explains how the energy price cap will affect domestic bills

Around 22 million people are expected to see their energy bills increase more than 50% as the new price cap comes into force on April 1.

The change affects those on standard or default variable tariffs, and will add an extra £693 a year to bills on average.

Late last year the market was rocked by a pricing crisis - with a perfect storm of rising demand as economies re-opened from the pandemic, depleted supplies and a cold winter.

In recent days the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed wholesale prices even higher.

The situation has led to more a host of companies going bust and fixed tariff deals disappearing from comparison sites.

Currently the cheapest fix available on the market averages 68% more than the current price cap and 9% more than the new cap from April, according comparison site MoneySavingExpert (MSE).

And another price cap rise is slated for October - with many experts predicting household bills could hit £3,000 a year.

We asked consumer advice expert and founder of MSE, Martin Lewis, whether people should be thinking about fixing their energy tariff or not.