Britain’s energy prices hit record highs last year, forcing the government to subsidize the costs of all households and give extra support to the most vulnerable.
Even with this help, “there are many households who simply cannot pay their energy bills,” Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley told an Institute of Government event.
The government has guaranteed that it will keep the average household energy bill below £2,500 ($3,089) a year until the end of April and below £3,000 until March 31, 2024.
However, these costs are still around three times higher than those paid before the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused record price increases in the European electricity and gas markets.
Brearley said prices are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels, and that the energy crisis sparked by Moscow’s troop dispatch to Ukraine necessitates new thinking in Britain’s energy sector.
The UK telecommunications sector offers a social rate for low-income households, with a basic broadband package funded by major providers. The giant BT said last year that the government must find a solution so that providers stop bearing the costs.
In a letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt last week, almost a hundred charities and non-profit organisations, including ageUK and disability groups, called on the government to introduce a social energy tariff.
By Susanna Twidale, from Reuters agency
Source: Ambito
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