Britain faces a 'winter of discontent' as borrowing costs soar and families struggle with energy bills that could be close to £500 higher than when Labour came to power, experts warn.Energy firm EOn predicts the energy price cap for January 2027 – which will be announced towards the end of November – will be more than £300 higher than it is now, reaching £2,027. For a household with typical usage, paying by direct debit, the energy price cap is currently set at £1,663 a year.From October, energy prices for millions of households will rise to the highest level for three years, under regulator Ofgem's price cap. In August, Ofgem said the energy price cap would increase by 4 per cent on October 1 for households on standard variable tariffs, amid higher wholesale gas prices due to the war across the Middle East. A household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £60 a year more for their energy bills, but more than a third of households are on fixed tariffs so their prices will not change. But the real sting looks to be coming in January. Worrying: Energy firm EOn has predicted that the energy price cap announced in January 2027 will be more than £300 higher than it is now, reaching £2,027EOn said it expected the jump from October's price cap to January 2027's price cap to be nearly 18 per cent. If its forecasts are correct, households on standard variable tariffs might see their annual energy bills rise from £1,723 a year to £2,027 a year. Separately, energy provider Ovo Energy has forecast the January 2027 price cap could be as high as £2,041 for the year - a rise of £318 on the October cap. No figures have been confirmed officially, but the predicted sizeable increase in energy bills for people on standard variable tariffs looks set to emerge at a time when mortgage rates are rising and households grapple with higher prices in supermarkets. Analysts at the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight will not be publishing their next energy price cap forecasts until the end of this month. Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, told This is Money: 'Renewed tension in the Middle East has pushed gas prices to a three-year high.'Rising wholesale prices will inevitably increase pressure on our January price cap forecast, but we're only a few weeks into a calculation period that runs for three months, so there's plenty of time still to go. 'A short burst of high prices won't move the cap much on its own, but the longer prices stay raised, the more that movement becomes embedded in our view of the cap. 'Even if wholesale prices were to ease back from where they are now, gas storage across Europe is running low, and that combination makes higher prices in January increasingly likely.' Joe Lytwyn, a personal finance expert at thimbl, said: 'An estimated 18 per cent rise in the energy price cap would represent a significant additional cost for households, particularly because it would arrive in January when energy use is typically at its highest. 'Averaged across a year, that is roughly another £25 a month, although households tend to use considerably more energy during the colder winter months.'He added: 'Wholesale markets can move quickly, and the final figure will depend on market conditions and the other costs Ofgem includes when it sets the cap.' The energy price cap is not a maximum household bill. It limits the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy and through standing charges, so what a household actually pays will still depend on how much gas and electricity they use. Many Britons fix their energy tariffsApproximately 35 per cent of households, or 11 million households, are on fixed energy tariffs, which can beat standard variable tariffs. But roughly 22million households in England, Wales and Scotland are on tariffs affected by the price cap. Amid increasing turmoil across the Middle East and higher wholesale energy prices, locking in a fixed-rate energy tariff will be a good idea for households wanting to beat the energy price cap. But watch out for exit fees, the reputation of the supplier and the length of the contract, as you could be locked in for some time. Outfox Energy currently has a dual fuel fixed rate deal for 18 months available priced 0.8 per cent lower than the current price cap. Sainsbury's Energy Sainsbury's Fix and Reward Fixed deal for 24 months costs £1,686, £23 above the July price cap, but £37 below October's price cap. Economic mood darkening As the economic mood darkens, households look set to suffer a 'triple whammy' of surging gas and electricity prices, increased mortgage rates, and another painful round of tax hikes. UK borrowing costs reached a 28-year peak last week as the prospect of more debt, increased spending, elevated inflation and growing interest rates rattled the bond markets. The surge in gilt yields came as the price of oil jumped more than 5 per cent to a four-month high, above $107 last week. Crude rose by more than 10 per cent last week with motorists being squeezed as petrol prices rocket to a four-year peak. And Office for National Statistics figures show gas prices have climbed 128 per cent in the past year to the highest level since December 2022.Today Brent crude is trading 3.3 per cent higher at around $108 a barrel, after surging 8.6 per cent to close last week at $104.61. The sharp rise in oil overnight follows new strikes on Saudi Arabian and Iranian ships in the Gulf, in addition to the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline.Industry experts have warned Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh that household gas and electricity bills are about to surge. Ed Miliband, as energy secretary, promised to get bills down by £300 by the end of the parliament. With food prices also on the rise, the looming inflation could force the Bank of England to raise interest rates from the current level of 3.75 per cent. At the same time, Chancellor John Healey has refused to rule out more tax rises in the Budget next month as they struggle to fund Labour's spending plans and service government debt. Government borrowing costs leapt higher again last week with the yield on 30-year gilts coming within a whisker of hitting 6 per cent for the first time since 1998. The ructions on the bond markets are already feeding through to higher mortgage rates with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warning the cost of UK home loans has risen faster than any other country in the G7 – with the 'possible exception of Japan' – due to the Iran war. Rate rises were announced this week by all of the major high street lenders with brokers warning the turmoil in the bond market will trigger further increases. The original 'winter of discontent' happened under James Callaghan's Labour government in the 1970s when a global energy price surge and strikes were exacerbated by extreme cold weather.