National Grid cashes in as electricity prices surge

NatioNal Grid risks anger from politicians and the public after hiking its forecasts as the soaring cost of electricity boosted profits.

the company said profits for the last financial year are set to be above the guidance given in November.

the announcement comes as inflation reached a 30-year-high of 7pc, with growing energy prices playing a big role in the increase.

Power prices in the UK have surged in the past year, driven by an increase in the cost of natural gas.

oil and gas prices have jumped 37pc and 90pc respectively since the start of the year, leading to a £693 rise in the energy price cap in april.

the cap is expected to rise again in october if global power prices remain elevated. there have been calls for the company to use its increased profits to reduce bills for households.

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: ‘Households up and down the country will look on in horror at the spectre of a private firm profiteering from the misery of increasing fuel prices.

‘this is obscene, and we would urge the directors of National Grid to spend the Easter weekend talking to people who are struggling to make ends meet and look at how they may use their profits for good. the announcement just goes to show why so many people across the political spectrum are now calling for windfall taxes.’

National Grid makes its money by charging suppliers to use its network to provide electricity to households, a cost that is then passed on to consumers through a transmission charge added to their bills.

Wera Hobhouse MP, the liberal Democrat spokesman for energy, said: ‘People can’t afford to heat and power their homes right now yet they are watching major suppliers rake in billions. the call for windfall taxes on energy suppliers is deafening yet the Government is burying their heads in the sand.’