Utilities companies, including one of the 'Big 6' domestic energy providers, are leading Tory candidates Liz Truss and Lisi Snak this Set up an improved assistance package for consumers facing astronomical bills this winter.
Calls from EDF and other suppliers show that savings expert Martin Lewis is advising millions of people to avoid mental health hazards: It came at a time when I said I needed immediate reassurance about the "catastrophic" price increase.
Prime Minister Nadim Zahawi and Commerce Secretary Kwasi Kwartengu will meet on Thursday with power generation companies that are making huge profits as a result of very high gas prices worldwide.
Ministers urge businesses to take action to ease pressure on consumers. But insiders said no new aid package is expected as Boris Johnson has ruled out major financial announcements until the new prime minister takes office on Sept. 5.
18} Mr Johnson has been accused of leading a "zombie" government long before the Conservative leadership race was settled, but both Mr Truss and Mr Snack are criticized as consumers struggle to deal with domestic energy bills. You haven't yet explained how to help you do that. In October he topped £3,500 and in January he topped £4,200.Truss withdraws previous opposition to 'subsidies' in what Sunak's team dubs "a major shift on the biggest problem facing the country today " and said: I do everything I can to help families in need.
However, the Foreign Secretary made no specific commitments for direct payments, such as those deployed by Mr Sunak earlier this year.
Her "first port of call" is still tax cuts, which experts warn will do nothing for the most disadvantaged households.
Mr. Sunak suggested that the aid package he would implement as prime minister would not exceed "billions of dollars." This is well short of his £15bn+, which poverty charities and experts consider necessary.
When asked by BBC interviewer Nick Robinson if the new aid was worth "in the billions [or] over £10 billion" he replied: rice field. Because that's the scale of the problem we're talking about.
Mr Sunak said he expected average bills to be around £400 higher than when he launched the previous package in May and felt a "moral responsibility" to respond with the extra help. rice field.
He showed that there was an increase in cash assistance for pensioners, benefit claimants and the disabled, and universal payments to all households, but how much It did not say if it was worth it.
Treasury Secretary Simon Clarke said the government was working out "a package of cost-of-living assistance that the next Prime Minister could consider when he takes office."
The Independent understands that this involves developing plans for a wide range of options. This could include tax cuts, payment enhancements, or new taxes on producers rather than the final package of new products. PM to implement.
In response to Ms Truss' comments, Sunak's aide said: Taking action means providing direct help that Truss previously dismissed as "handouts."
"After overturning plans last week to cut salaries for teachers and the army in suburban London, Truss has made serious moral and political misunderstandings about policies that affect millions of people. Such a mistake by the government would cost the Conservatives the next general election.”
Industry concerns over the ability and willingness of customers to pay ever-increasing fees. In a sign that prices are rising, EDF's managing director of customer affairs Philippe Commaret said the price outlook had changed "dramatically" since Sunak's £15bn charge. In May, the life support package was announced.
"Unfortunately, the previously announced support won't go far enough," Commaret told Bloomberg.
"We are asking the government and two Conservative candidates to work with industry to find viable solutions for customers who need them most this winter.
A Savanta poll by The Independent found that 7% of customers have already stopped paying all or part of their bills, and more than 19% said it was considering doing so. as prices rise. A majority (55%) said a systematic boycott of energy payments would be justified.
And his six million households across the UK owed an average of £206 to energy providers, up from an average of £188 in April, according to the Uswitch website.
Meanwhile, government officials at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have created an emergency energy plan that includes a possible blackout this winter, citing a "worst case scenario." Something we expect '.
Octopus Energy CEO Greg Jackson said:
Also, Derek Lickorish, chairman of Utilita Energy and former chairman of the government's Commission on Fuel Shortages, called for a French-style social fee to help his 10 million fuel-starved households from £800 he reduced to £1,000.
"We have to do something very serious. The clock is ticking as we sit here and the price of gasoline keeps going up. So it has to be done quickly,” Licolish said.
"It should be a social tariff, properly funded by the Treasury. It will cause more borrowing, but it is essential to take the stress off the poorest."
Energy retailers are facing pressure as gas prices on global markets are so high, despite rising prices. The reason for allowing the limit to rise so quickly is fear that more suppliers will go bankrupt.
Thursday's roundtable with generators will focus on the long-term reforms Kwarten put forward earlier this year and are currently negotiating to make power markets work better.
This includes some wind and solar energy producers linking prices to gas, boosting profits even when they are not facing rising costs, said Zahawy, in a "renewable energy mandate."
"I want to understand what they can do for their customers and more." Because they're clearly in a very profitable place right now, gas prices," he said. "I asked them, 'Are you investing? How can you help customers?
A 25% claim for extraordinary gains from extracting oil and gas in the North Sea was announced earlier this year by Mr Sunak. , which allows companies to save 91 pence in taxes for every pound invested in the UK energy sector.
Shadow Prime Minister Rachel Reeves said:
"Governments should be ashamed that this loophole even existed in the first place. This is not appropriate when people are worried about how they will pay their bills." 86} However, a Ministry of Finance spokesperson said: Also newly introduced, Energy Profits Levy will raise a further £5bn in its first year to help pay for his £37bn package to help families with rising costs.
``But with Putin's invasion of Ukraine driving up energy prices globally, it is right to encourage investment in the North Sea.
"Like other nations, our system will be more efficient when there are real costs to the industry, such as safely removing infrastructure from the natural environment." also provide relief.”
