LONDON, (Reuters) – The share of England’s households that spend at least 10% on their energy bills, a figure deemed “fuel stress”, will increase to five million on Friday, according to a think tank.

The cap on Britain’s most popular tariffs, imposed by Britain’s energy regulator, is rising by 54%. This means that energy bills for around 22 million customers could go up hundreds of thousands per year.

According to the Resolution Foundation (a think tank that studies living standards), this cap will rise once more in October. This could lead to an additional 2.5 million homes being fuel stressed.

Rishi Sunak (Finance minister) was widely criticized last week for not providing enough assistance in the budget update to the poorest households, despite the greatest hit on living standards since the 1950s.

According to the Resolution Foundation, the fifth most economically disadvantaged households will spend twice as much on their energy bills as the fifth richest. This is even before taking into consideration a new tax rebate program.

The Resolution Foundation stated that 24% are in fuel stress in north-east England. That number could reach 41% by October.

Jonathan Marshall, Senior Economist at Resolution Foundation said that there has been an increase in energy costs this fall which will make it more urgent for us to provide support.

He called for a consistent, long-term strategy that would improve insulation in homes, increase the production of renewable and nuclear electricity, and reform energy markets to reduce dependence on volatile gas prices for household energy bills.

According to Resolution Foundation, tax rebates and the benefits system are more efficient ways of helping households that have been hardest hit.