Energy suppliers urge UK government to step up winter bill support

Energy UK, the trade body for energy suppliers, has urged the UK government to provide immediate help for people struggling with energy bills this winter. It warned that delaying action could lead to a deeper and more costly crisis. [1]

Households in England, Scotland and Wales on variable tariffs covered by Ofgem’s price cap saw rates rise by 4% at the start of October. For a typical household using gas and electricity and paying by direct debit, those rates equate to £1,723 a year — about £60 more on an annualised basis. The cap limits unit prices, not a household’s total bill. [1]

Forecasters expect a further 16% rise in January for the roughly 20 million households on capped variable tariffs. Consultancy Cornwall Insight forecasts a typical annual bill of £1,999 under the January cap. [1]

Energy UK wants targeted help beyond the £150 Warm Home Discount, eventually leading to a discounted social tariff. It has also called for debt relief for the hardest-hit households and for more electricity-bill levies to be funded through taxation. Its chief executive, Dhara Vyas, said customer debt was adding an average of £67 a year to bills. [1]

The trade body acknowledged that the government had already cut VAT on electricity bills and cancelled or shifted some levies into taxation. It said higher wholesale prices had wiped out those savings, linking the pressure partly to conflict in the Middle East and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. [1]