Because of the rise in gas prices.. Exorbitant bills await the British

LONDON 

- Exorbitant bills await the British at the end of April, due to the skyrocketing electricity and gas prices that threaten millions of Britons with entering into energy poverty, as they will not be able to pay for the energy bill.

And the energy bill has become a real burden on British families, who will be forced to give up many of their other expenses to save electricity and gas, or else it will come next autumn and they will not find anything to warm up with.

And in a situation that the British did not live in like it, the British citizen is more concerned with providing an income that protects against the evil of entering the category of threatened by the loss of heating gas by next October, when prices are expected to rise again.

rocket altitude

Starting in April, more than 22 million British households will see an increase in their energy bill, an increase of about $750 to $800 a year, and those who were paying $1,400 a year will have to pay $2,200 a year.

The British were happy with the Johnson government's announcement of plans to financially support families, in conjunction with the announcement of the country's energy strategy, which later turned out that its goal is to achieve energy security for the country, not to support families affected by high energy prices.

As for the reasons for this rise, it is the government's permission to raise the price ceiling, which is the limit allowed for energy companies to reach, as the government raised this ceiling by more than 54%, which gave energy companies a large margin to raise their prices.

Energy companies justify raising their prices by rising gas prices at the global level.

Although Britain is only 5% dependent on Russian gas, the Ukrainian war has affected the world's energy market.

The crisis will worsen in October, when prices are reviewed again, as a report by Bank Investec expected that the annual energy bill would rise to 3,500 dollars.

energy poverty

And a report by the British Resolution Foundation warned of the contribution of this rise to doubling the number of British families who will enter the “fuel pressure” category, which is the box in which those who pay about 10% of their income on the energy bill are placed only.

According to a report by the British Foundation, 5 million homes in Britain (a third of the population) will fall into this category.

In another report, Citizens Advice predicted that by October the energy bill will rise again, meaning that 14.5 million people will not be able to pay their gas and electricity bills.

The same institution revealed that 41% of these families are now obliged to borrow in order to save money to spend on their needs and pay bills.

Support Warning

And the International Monetary Fund entered the line, to warn against calls for financial support for British families.

The Fund warns of an economic logic that says that any support will increase prices.

The IMF said that helping families with money will exacerbate the supply crisis in foodstuffs, and will raise more than energy prices.

The IMF knows that the current price increase may lead to many protests, but it described providing financial support to families as pouring oil on the fire, because if families are financially supported, it will raise their demand and consumption in a way that increases pressure on markets, and with it the food shortage crisis will exacerbate. It increases oil and gas prices.

That is why IMF experts believe that the solution is to control demand, which may lead to a decline in prices, and they suggest targeted support for the poorest families until the inflation rate declines.

Next is worse

The British Central Bank (BANK OF ENGLAND) warned of the worst shock that will hit the British economy since 1970, which will lead to a slowdown in the growth rate in the coming years.

The Central Bank’s expectations come in conjunction with recording unprecedented numbers of inflation, as it is expected to reach between 8% and 10% during this year, which is the highest rate in more than 50 years.

The central bank is trying to control the inflation rate, by raising the interest rate for the third time in a row in about 3 months, to reach 0.75%.

It is expected that the price crisis will be exacerbated by the announcement of the British Chamber of Commerce that a large number of companies and stores intend to increase their prices in the coming weeks, which means that the price flames will come by summer.

According to a report by the Resolution Foundation, this situation will push more than 1.3 million people into extreme poverty during the next world, including half a million children.