(Bloomberg) — Rishi Sunak has bought himself, and UK households, time with his latest £15 billion ($19 billion) aid package, but an unfriendly outlook for energy prices means he’s likely to face pressure to act again next year.

The one-off payments and discounts the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced Thursday were aimed at reducing the impact of an unprecedented surge in energy prices this year that will see the average UK annual bill hit around 2,800 pounds ($3,530) in October, more than double the 1,278 pound level before last month’s price rise.

However, unless there is a significant turnaround in the energy markets in the next months, the bills will remain eye-wateringly expensive in 2023. This means that households will continue to need support, and Sunak may have to provide the same assistance again.

While gas prices have fallen back from record highs, they remain volatile amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, and futures are still double where they usually are at this time of year. According to data from ICE (NYSE.) ICE Endex, prices for this winter have risen 73% and the next winter is about three times the average.

Sunak discussed the subject in an interview with BBC News Friday. Sunak suggested that he could act again should necessary.

“We’re sitting here in May, we don’t know what energy bills will be next April,” he said. “People can judge me by my actions over the last couple of years, I’ve always tried to be responsive to the situation the country and economy is experiencing.”

“Vulnerable families and businesses will be looking to the Chancellor to come back to the Commons in the new year,” said George Dibb, head of the IPPR Centre for Economic Justice. The plan this week was just a “sticking plaster,” he said.