Leading comparison website Compare the Market today froze its energy switching service with the wholesale price crisis now so severe that there are only a handful of suppliers left on the market.
Families in Britain are facing a punishing hike of as much as £280 in annual energy bills amid a surge of more than 60 per cent in the wholesale cost of gas and electricity.
Global gas prices, much of which is used to fuel UK power stations, are rising sharply because of higher demand caused by the economic recovery following the pandemic.
Prices will also be pushed up after a large fire in Kent at one of the country's most important electricity cables this week hit supplies.
Compare the Market told MailOnline today that the 'unprecedented rises in wholesale energy costs' meant that a number of energy companies have temporarily made their tariffs unavailable to people wishing to switch.
Other comparison websites such as USwitch, MoneySupermarket and Go Compare appeared to still be operating as normal today, but the decision by Compare the Market will no doubt stoke fears that they could follow suit.
Compare the Market said that the 'unprecedented rises in wholesale energy costs' has seen it suspend energy comparisons
A Compare the Market spokesman said: 'Due to unprecedented rises in wholesale energy costs, a number of energy companies have temporarily made their tariffs unavailable to people wishing to switch.
'At comparethemarket.com, our priority is to ensure that our customers can be confident that the product they purchase is going to meet their requirements.
'In order to protect our customers we have therefore decided to temporarily stop offering energy quotes via our website during this period of uncertainty. We will resume energy comparison as soon as we can be confident we can offer true comparison for customers.'
On Wednesday, a fire in Kent knocked out a cable that brings in electricity from France, most of which comes from nuclear power stations.
The news triggered a shock rise in the spot price of electricity of some 20 per cent, however this fell back yesterday following reassurances from National Grid.
This MoneySavingExpert graph shows how wholesale prices have gone from record lows in May 2020 to record highs now
The cable is expected to be bringing in French electricity again next week, however it will not return to full operation until March.
At the same time Britain and, particularly Europe, are reliant on gas from Russia, however supplies from this source have been squeezed.
The rise in prices has been so steep that some energy intensive firms are scaling back or stopping production in the
