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Ministers urged to offer financial support for Britain’s rising energy bills

Ministers have been urged to intervene to prevent a “winter of despair and suffering” by offering financial support to millions of households facing unmanageable energy bills.

The government is under renewed pressure to act after warnings that energy costs will remain unaffordable for the most vulnerable in society, despite Friday’s announcement of a fall in the energy price cap.

The average annual cost of gas and electricity bills will drop to £1,923 from October for the 29 million households in England, Wales, and Scotland, the energy watchdog Ofgem has announced, £150 lower than the previous quarter. The change marks the first time the cap has been below £2,000 for 18 months.

However, a typical household will still pay almost double the rate for its gas and electricity than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a global energy crisis, and prices are forecast to rise again from January.

Many will see little difference in what they pay because the £400 support from the government given to all homes last winter is no longer available, and standing charges have risen from an average of £186 a year in October 2021 to just over £300.

Charities and campaign groups have called on the government to urgently introduce a social tariff, which would cut bills for low-income and vulnerable households, charging them below-cost rates. Energy suppliers are also aligning behind the idea, with Scottish Power, E.ON, and Centrica calling for reform.

The chief executive of National Energy Action (NEA), Adam Scorer, said about the support: “The price cap does not protect those who simply cannot afford the cost of keeping warm. That requires direct government intervention through bill support, social tariffs, and energy efficiency.”

Scorer said that the government is “aware that failing to act will consign millions to another winter of despair and suffering”.

An estimated 6.3 million households will be in fuel poverty – where more than 10% of household income is spent on fuel costs – this winter, up from 4.5 million in October 2021, before the energy crisis began, according to NEA.

James Taylor, the executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, urged ministers not to wait until winter before deciding to extend further help. He said: “Many disabled households can’t simply turn off nebulisers or go without energy to charge wheelchairs and hoists.

“Creating this tariff in time for winter needs to be a political priority.”

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