GWYNEDD and Ynys Môn are set to be hit hard by the expected rise in energy bills in April, new figures have revealed.

The figures show Gwynedd will be the fourth-worst hit in the UK while Ynys Môn will be the 11th-worst.

Overall, seven out of the 20 worst-affected areas are located in Wales.

The analysis by the Welsh Liberal Democrats shows that the average yearly bills for homeowners in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn are set to skyrocket by £803 and £725 respectively (£67 and £60 a month).

This is significantly above the forecasted national average uplift in bills for each household of £598 per year.

Last year, the average homeowners in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn paid out £1,016 and £918 respectively for their annual energy bill.

When the new price cap comes into force in April, that figure is set to rise to £1,819 and £1,643.

The Welsh Lib Dems have called for a one-off ‘Robin Hood’ tax on the super-profits of oil and gas giants, to fund an emergency package of support for residents facing eye-watering increases to their heating bills.

This would include the doubling and expansion of the Warm Home Discount to those in receipt of Universal Credit or Pension Credit, giving 20,066 households in the two counties £300 each off their heating bills this year.

The party has also called for the doubling of the Winter Fuel Allowance to be doubled, helping 38,650 pensioners in the area keep their homes warm.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader and Mid and West Wales Senedd Member, Jane Dodds, said: “These figures reveal that people in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn are facing eye-watering increases to their energy bills when many local residents are already deeply worried about their next heating bill landing on their doormats.

“It is hardly surprising that it is people in rural areas are the worst-affected.

“It is yet more evidence that the Conservatives and Welsh Labour are taking our rural communities for granted.

“Families are facing an energy bill nightmare, meanwhile the Conservative government in Westminster is asleep at the wheel failing to do anything to protect vulnerable people from this cost-of-living crisis.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats have set out a clear plan to give thousands of people in our area £300 each off their heating bills this year.

“It’s time Boris Johnson and the Conservatives stopped taking our local communities for granted and offered families the support they need to cope with energy price hikes.

“Long-term, we need to see the Labour-Plaid Cymru administration in the Senedd significantly ramp up its insulation programme, with support to improve household insulation targeted at those who need it most.

“The Welsh Government has missed all of its fuel poverty reduction targets since 2010. We simply cannot leave this issue unaddressed any longer.”