Energy firms plea for £20bn cash to spread cost of soaring gas prices
Energy firms plead for £20bn cash help to keep bills down as they look to spread cost of soaring gas prices
- Energy firms urging ministers to consider assistance over soaring gas prices
- Gas suppliers warned Business Secretary that energy bills could double in April
- Global prices have reached record highs and 26 firms have gone bust this year
- Ministers could facilitate deal for industry to be given access to a £20billion fund
Energy firms could benefit from a £20billion fund to help lower gas and electricity bills this spring.
The companies are urging ministers to consider the taxpayer-funded assistance to help them spread the cost of soaring wholesale gas prices.
Suppliers warned Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng that energy bills could double in April unless help is offered.
Global gas prices have reached record highs in recent weeks, squeezing companies that are subject to the UK’s price cap – £1,277 per year. Some 26 energy suppliers have gone bust this year.
The record prices will leave the industry and consumers with a bill of between £15billion and £20billion.
An industry source told The Daily Telegraph: ‘The UK faces doubling or trebling of bills.
Gas suppliers have warned Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured) that energy bills could double in April unless help is offered
‘The global cost of energy will be £20billion higher than in a typical year.
‘We need to spread it over a number of years.
‘There’s no need for government handouts, it’s just about spreading the cost.’
It is understood that ministers could facilitate a deal that would see the industry given access to a £20billion fund, which they could repay at a rate of £2billion a year over ten years.
This would help companies cover the cost of the short-term spike in wholesale gas prices and allow suppliers to keep a lid on consumers’ bills.
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