Energy bills will be increased by £149 in this October, with the Conservatives being blamed by Labour for the increase, and the Tories blame Labour’s push for climate goals for making the bills higher, with each party pointing out it could be worse if the other party was brought into power.

As autumn approaches, there are claims that energy bills are set to rise £149 higher, and the anticipated rise brings a political storm of blame from Labour to the Conservatives. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said that Labour’s share of the increase is because the Tories failed to invest enough in renewable energy. To this, Claire Coutinho of the Tories says that Labour’s green energy drive is hammering families who need cheap energy this winter.

According to regulator Ofgem, the boiling energy prices this winter will strongly lead to an increase in energy bills starting in October. Indeed, this is a change in price, considering spiraling energy charges globally and harsh weather. The price rise comes following the chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to slash winter fuel payments that used to offer up to £300 for pensioners who don’t receive any benefit or pension credit.

Meantime the Scottish government has taken the same view as their UK counterpart and ended the universal provision of winter fuel payments to all pensioners. There is a hint of anger about this in Labour ranks. MP Rachel Maskell has called on the government to think again about the cut particularly for pensioners who are only just above the threshold to receive pension credit.

“The rise in energy bills to £1,717 a year will be worrying for many families,” Miliband conceded. He argues that the solution lies in investment in clean, homegrown energy. He said the rise in energy prices was a consequence of the previous Government’s bad energy policies that had left the country relying on international gas markets controlled by unstable regimes.

Miliband insists the advance has to be to clean energy. “We’re pushing for more onshore wind, solar power and have set a huge budget for renewable energy projects,” he said. Labour says such measures will eventually lead to lower energy bills and greater independence from energy suppliers.

However, Coutinho and the Tories hit out at this approach. She claimed that Labour is so focused on its environmental goals that it now ignores the immediate needs of families. In her remarks, Coutinho said, instead of saving money on energy, Labour is taking winter fuel payments away from millions of pensioners, now facing higher energy bills, with no extra help.

The fuel poverty charity, National Energy Action, said the number of people who can’t afford to heat their homes could rise to as many as six million this winter. It has urged ministers to extend automatic winter fuel payments to 880,000 pensioners eligible for but failing to claim them.

On the other hand, Chancellor Rachel Reeves just could not care less if she is popular; decision number one hundred and whatever has to be made tough. As a way of showing to the British voters that Labour is serious on fiscal responsibility, she would start making savings of £1.4 billion each year by cutting winter fuel payments. Indeed, not without controversy. The shadow secretary of state for Labour, Rachael Maskell, said the cuts were not in the party’s manifesto and it could turn out to be jarring for the pensioners who had budgeted their winters in line with previous support levels.

The stance of the Labour government has also caused some internal dissatisfaction, though many MPs have defended the decision, citing that the triple lock on pensions will be retained, so pensioners’ incomes will rise with prices and wages. However, the Tories are still accusing Labour of lying to people as part of their election promises, considering the winter fuel payment cuts were not in their election manifestos. They are urging a debate in the House of Commons once Parliament comes back in September.

Rising energy prices and the scrapping of winter fuel payments are fuelling demands for pensioners to get more help. Charities would like the Chancellor to consider measures including a boost to local hardship funds or one-off payments to pensioners in lower council tax bands. It is not clear whether he will make any changes in the autumn Budget.

Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh was to meet with energy suppliers, Ofgem, and other organisations on how they could support the consumers so that they could avoid piling up energy debt. The Liberal Democrats and Green Party have also raised concerns, with Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer calling for an end to means-testing for winter fuel payments and more investment in home insulation and renewable energy.

Denyer puts it out there that the more one invests in green energy, the more the bills are reduced. Greg Jackson, the Octopus Energy founder, corroborates and alludes that billions can be saved in offering some of the cheapest electricity across Europe if more investments are raised in British wind and solar power. According to Jackson, local control of energy prices is another area in need of reform to avoid the mercy of global gas market price swings.

The row is heightening and with it the uncertainty over the future of energy bills and pensioner support. Both Labour and the Tories are under increasing pressure to react to rising costs and vulnerable households.