The economy in the UK may be starting to shrink and a new forecast is suggesting that the average annual energy bills could be as high as the equivalent of $6,000 next year. The country’s GDP dropped by 0.1% in the second quarter of this year and analysts believe the recession forecast by the Bank of England last week has already begun. 

The decline was driven by a 0.4% drop in the service sector. Energy prices have already pushed inflation to a 40-year high of 9.4%, inflation is expected to peak at 13% later this year. According to the predicted energy costs, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition has said it expects nearly one third of all UK households to fall under the poverty line after paying their energy bills next year. UK household bills have already increased by 54% this year, and even with a support package announced by the government in May, energy bills continue to increase.

Read more: UK recession looms as households feel pain of soaring energy bills