Million families face higher bills as energy firms at risk of collapse

MINISTERS are preparing emergency support measures to tackle the mounting gas crisis as up to a million families face an energy bill price hike.

Energy firms are asking for a financial crisis-style government bailout, as four UK suppliers teeter on the brink of collapse following a surge in the wholesale price of natural gas across Europe.

Four small energy suppliers have ceased to trade in recent weeks due to the sudden increase in global gas prices. Another four firms are now on the verge of collapse, prompting fears that up to a million households will face higher bills when their custom is transferred to other companies.

Boris Johnson last night did not rule out the current gas shortage lasting for months as he blamed the problem on the demand boost from global economies coming out of lockdowns.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, acknowledged that it was a “worrying time” for businesses and consumers. “We are working hard to manage the impact of global gas price rises,” he said. He will today host a roundtable with the energy industry and consumer groups.

Yesterday Mr Kwarteng held talks with the chief executive of energy regulator Ofgem. The pair discussed steps to help ease pressures on smaller energy providers at risk of going bust.

Energy suppliers are calling for solutions such as government loans to cover the costs of taking on a large number of customers, or the creation of a statebacked body to manage collapsed providers in the short term, it is understood.

The latter would expose the Government to potentially millions of customer accounts, depending on how many suppliers go under, and how many are seen as unprofitable by those remaining in

The pandemic has “knocked back” efforts to reduce plastic food packaging, retailers and recycling charities have said.

Industry experts have said customers moved away from unpackaged produce because of the virus and sales of these items have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Specialist grocer Planet Organic and recycling charity Wrap said ahead of Recycling Week, which begins today, efforts to reduce packaging in the grocery sector had been stifled.

The grocer said: “We were going in a really good direction with our unpackaged lines but Covid has essentially knocked that back.”