Energy bills are set to rise by nearly ￡700 this year, following the lifting of the energy price cap. 

The government has announced measures to try to soften the blow, but most households in the UK will feel the impact in the months to come.

The BBC's personal finance correspondent Kevin Peachey answers some of your questions about the situation.

Why does the price have to go up? Antony Vidler

The wholesale price of gas has gone up over the past year across the world, due to a number of factors. 

These included a worldwide squeeze on energy supplies, a cold winter in 2020/21 and a relatively windless summer in 2021, which made it difficult to generate wind energy.

However, UK gas suppliers have been limited in how much of this price rise they were able to pass on to consumers so far. This is because of the energy price cap - the maximum which the UK energy regulator allows them to charge customers.

This resulted in several gas suppliers going out of business last year, and made yesterday's announcement of a significant rise in the price cap inevitable.

You will not be surprised to hear that it is a record rise.

To be clear, the price cap affects those on variable or default tariffs. That includes people who have not switched for some time, those whose fixed deals have expired, and those whose suppliers went bust and were shifted to a new tariff.

Anyone on a fixed deal is unaffected. However, were you to try to sign up to a fixed deal now, it would be even more expensive than these variable tariffs.

Why are energy prices rising for customers on eco tariffs, if their energy comes from renewables? Martin Brimacombe

This is because eco providers are still affected by wholesale prices which are driving bill rises.

These providers try to buy in advance from renewable sources, and invest in schemes for renewable generation.

But ultimately, at present, they have to source electricity from the National Grid - some of which is generated from gas. 

As a result, they are not immune to the situation in the wider market, and prices charged by renewable generators have been going up too.