UK Energy Firms Meet With Govt Ahead Of Winter Bills Shock

Major UK energy providers met with the government on Thursday to discuss ways to alleviate the cost pressures on households who are seeing soaring energy and gas bills, and those bills are expected to surge even further when winter comes.  

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng met with companies, including British Gas owner Centrica, EDF, and Scottish Power, which are some of the top energy providers in the UK.

The firms agreed to cooperate with the government to ease the burden on households, Zahawi said.  

“The government continues to evaluate the extraordinary profits seen in certain parts of the electricity generation sector and the appropriate and proportionate steps to take,” the cabinet said in a statement, as carried by Reuters.

The UK government will “keep urging the electricity sector to continue working on ways we can ease the cost of living pressures and to invest further and faster in British energy security,” PM Johnson said, as quoted by AP.

Energy bills in the UK are set to surge more than expected this winter, with many households struggling to be able to pay them after Russia further slashed gas deliveries to Europe, sending gas and energy prices for the winter and for next year soaring, UK-based consultancy BFY Group said at the end of last month.

"With typical usage patterns, this means that bills for January alone will now be in excess of £500 [$602]. Further support will be required for the majority of households for them to not be classed as in fuel poverty," said Gemma Berwick, Senior Consultant at BFY Group.

"Huge swathes of the British public aren't going to be able to afford their bills this winter. Average families with two working parents will be in fuel poverty," Berwick said, as carried by The Telegraph. 

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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