United Kingdom: a new rise in the price of energy in a context of worsening crisis
Regulated energy prices will rise by 80% from October in the UK and gas and electricity bills could rise further “significantly” next year, in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
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Regulated energy prices will rise by 80% from October in the UK and gas and electricity bills could rise “significantly” further next year in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
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The authorized price cap will drop from 1,971 pounds per year per average household to 3,549 pounds from October, regulator Ofgem said on Friday.
“
The increase reflects the continued rise in global wholesale gas prices, which started with the post-pandemic deconfinements, and were pushed to record levels when Russia slowly cut off its gas supplies to Europe
”, argues the Ofgem.
Looking at the current trend, Ofgem warns that “
prices could get significantly worse in 2023
”.
Since this threshold is calculated on the average of wholesale gas prices over the previous months, experts expect it to be raised to more than 4,000 pounds in January and up to 6,000 pounds in the spring.
The price of gas has approached in recent days the historic highs reached at the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine: “
We are aware of the massive impact that this price cap increase will have on households across Great Britain and the tough decisions consumers are going to have to make
,” commented Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive of Ofgem.
►Also read:
United Kingdom: faced with inflation, consumers refuse to pay their energy bills
UK households at risk of energy poverty
Ofgem, employers, suppliers and associations are calling for immediate government action to avoid a "
dramatic
" shock for low-income households, already facing inflation at more than 10%, the highest in the G7 countries, while the British economy is flirting with recession.
According to the University of York, almost two-thirds of British households are threatened with energy poverty from next year:
“We are seeing a situation of great stress among our customers.
(...) About a third are in a situation of fuel poverty and 20% more could become
so, “said Philippe Commaret, commercial director of EDF for the United Kingdom, interviewed by AFP.
He adds that some households take desperate and dangerous measures for them, such as giving up heating or unplugging their refrigerator.
With many precarious homes dependent on rechargeable meters, "
we left to see thousands of homes with sudden power outages
", denounces the Resolution Foundation think tank.
Waiting for government aid
Economy Minister Nadhim Zahawi promised that "
help is coming, with £400 off energy bills for all, £650 for vulnerable households and £300 for pensioners
".
Departing Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson has left this politically sensitive issue to the next head of government, whose name will be revealed on September 5.
The favorite to replace him, Liz Truss, until then favored tax cuts more than direct aid, which she describes as “
bandages
”.
On Friday, she seemed to soften her position, in a column for the
Daily Mail
: "
If I am elected leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, I will take measures (...) on immediate aid, but I will also tackle the roots of the problem.
»
The environmental NGO Greenpeace asks for its part to put energy savings back at the heart of government policy, in particular the insulation of deplorable housing in the United Kingdom, and to "
turbocharge
" investment in renewables, which have become cheaper. than gas, so that the country "
gets out of its dependence on fossil fuels
".
►
Also to listen: United Kingdom: multiplication of strikes in the face of constantly rising inflation
(with
AFP
)
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