Energy bills heading for £3,000, cautions Scottish Power

ENERGY bills are on course to surge to almost £3,000 by the end of the year, the chief executive of Scottish Power has warned.

Keith Anderson said there would be a “huge increase” in people unable to pay for energy bills unless ministers step in.

His comments came as customers reported that their direct debits have doubled, despite the price cap being half that. Last week, Kwasi Kwartang, the Business Secretary, accused energy firms of overcharging customers on purpose to shore up their own finances.

Mr Anderson warned annual bills are set to climb to around £2,900 when the price cap is reset in October to factor in wholesale gas prices up to August.

The cap on energy bills leapt by 54pc in April, pushing average bills in Britain up to £1,971 following months of climbing wholesale gas costs.

He said: “We are heading to a horrible place where none of us want to be.” The Government has stepped in with help for households in the form of a £150 rebate through the council tax system and £200 energy bill rebate. But Mr Anderson said ministers should support the most vulnerable households with a £1,000 reduction in energy bills.

Separately, a survey by Money Saving Expert found that 30pc of British Gas, Octopus and Shell Energy customers, who were in credit and on a pricecapped tariff, reported their direct debits increasing. A spokesman for Octopus said that 15pc of its customers had experienced a doubling of their bills, compared with the 32pc reported in the survey.

British Gas said that the higher than average increase could be because it offered an option for customers to freeze their direct debits last winter.

Shell Energy said: “The average increase for our customers who have been on the SVT for more than three months and are in credit is 39pc – less than the price cap increase.”