In a development that will surprise absolutely no one currently staring at their bank balance, Energy UK - the trade body representing energy suppliers - has politely suggested the government might want to, you know, do something about energy bills before things get properly grim this winter.

The group warned that inaction would lead to a "longer-term, more costly and deeper crisis," which is the kind of phrase that sounds dramatic until you remember it's describing the actual cost of heating an actual home.

Domestic gas prices rose on Thursday, and forecasts point to steep increases in January. The BBC reported earlier this week that forecasters predict a 16% rise in domestic energy prices in the new year for 20 million households on variable tariffs affected by regulator Ofgem's price cap.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government was considering any measure that took the pressure off. Which is reassuring, in the way that "considering" always is.

Households in England, Scotland and Wales on variable energy tariffs set by Ofgem's price cap - which puts a maximum price on each unit of gas and electricity - were hit with a 4% price increase at the start of October. That's about £60 per year, or £5 per month, taking an annual bill to £1,723 for the typical household using both electricity and gas and paying by direct debit, if this level was sustained for a year. Which it won't be.

Consultancy Cornwall Insight said its latest forecast suggested the same typical annual bill would rise to £1,999 in January. So that's fun.

Energy UK acknowledged the government had already provided some support. VAT on electricity bills was cut on Thursday, and some levies were cancelled or shifted into taxation earlier this year. But the trade body said these savings had been wiped out by high wholesale prices - paid by suppliers - caused in part by international events, namely conflict in the Middle East and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. It said bills were soaring as they had in 2022, when they were driven up by the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We cannot afford to wait for the same scale of crisis before acting again. We must heed the lessons from that time," said Dhara Vyas, chief executive of Energy UK. She noted that the urgent intervention needed was highlighted by growing levels of customer debt, the cost of which now adds an average of £67 a year to everyone's bills. Yes, everyone's. Even yours.

On Thursday, the boss of supplier EDF Energy, Simone Rossi, warned that the UK was "walking into a second energy crisis," and Vyas said action was needed before bills jumped again. "Last-minute emergency interventions run the risk of being badly targeted and costing us all more," she said, in what may or may not be a subtle reference to various recent last-minute emergency interventions.

Energy UK is calling for government measures including targeted support over and above the £150 Warm Home Discount given to people on benefits, which would eventually lead to a discounted social tariff; a debt relief scheme for the most severely affected households as part of a strategy that will also help prevent debt build-up among new tenants and homeowners; and removing more levies from electricity bills and shifting them to taxation as part of a wider move to electrification.

At the Labour Party conference last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC that he wouldn't call Rossi's crisis warning an overstatement, adding that the cost of home energy, as well as petrol and diesel, was "very difficult indeed." He said: "We're looking at any measure that can give people breathing space, that can take the pressure off."

So, to summarise: energy bills are going up, suppliers are worried, the government is "looking at" things, and everyone's annual bill is quietly accruing an extra £67 to cover the debt of people who couldn't pay theirs. The circle of life, but with direct debits.