£200 towards bills isn’t good enough, says energy boss

THE boss of a major energy firm has said the Government’s £200 payment to help offset soaring bills is ‘not going to be anywhere near enough’.

Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower, predicted costs would jump by nearly £1,000 for millions of households when the energy price cap is next reviewed in October. The average UK home whose tariff is tied to the cap saw its bill rise to £1,971 on April 1 after the war in Ukraine and Russian sanctions caused oil and gas prices to surge. ScottishPower predicted that this could reach £2,900 in the autumn.

Mr Anderson said ‘targeted’ support was needed for the most vulnerable customers such as those on pre-payment meters, claiming Universal Credit or receiving the warm home discount.

He said: ‘Given what’s going to happen in October, we think urgent action is required to support customers through this period.

‘You require a sum of about £1,000 to start bringing bills back closer not to where they used to be, but closer to where it’s realistic to expect people to be able to pay them.

‘Our view is clearly now this £200 is not going to be anywhere near enough.’