Energy suppliers and charities pressed the UK government on Thursday to act urgently on household energy bills, warning that inaction risks a repeat of the 2022 crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Energy UK, the suppliers' trade body, said domestic gas prices had risen Thursday and forecasts predict a 16% jump in energy bills in January for 20 million households on variable tariffs. The BBC reported that typical annual bills could reach £1,999 in January, up from £1,723 now. A 4% increase took effect in October, adding about £60 per year to typical household bills.
Dhara Vyas, chief executive of Energy UK, said the government must act before bills spike again. "We cannot afford to wait for the same scale of crisis before acting again. We must heed the lessons from that time," Vyas stated. She cited growing customer debt, which now adds an average of £67 annually to all bills, as evidence of strain.
EDF Energy boss Simone Rossi warned that the UK was "walking into a second energy crisis." Energy UK blamed high wholesale prices, driven partly by Middle East conflict and shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, for the rises. The suppliers said that earlier government support, including a VAT cut on electricity Thursday and cancelled levies, had been wiped out by wholesale costs.
Energy UK called for targeted measures: support above the existing £150 Warm Home Discount for benefit recipients, eventually leading to a discounted social tariff; a debt relief scheme for severely affected households; and removal of more levies from electricity bills, shifting costs to taxation.
Adam Scorer, chief executive of charity National Energy Action, agreed the analysis was sound. He told BBC Breakfast that rising household debt meant "poor people getting into more serious levels of debt," adding that without debt relief, "there's no way forward, there's no breathing space, there's no future for households who can't see their way beyond debt."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC he was "looking at any measure that can give people breathing space, that can take the pressure off." He said the cost of home energy, along with petrol and diesel, was "very difficult indeed" and did not dispute Rossi's crisis warning.