Nearly three million more households would be eligible for discounts on their energy bills next winter under new proposals. The Government is consulting on offering more support to UK consumers facing an “unpredictable international energy market”.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said on Tuesday that one in five families in Britain would get financial help in the proposals. Around 2.7 million extra households, including nearly one million with children, would be eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount next winter, it added.
This would bring the total number of recipient homes to an estimated 6.1 million. The consultation is in response to an expected increase in energy bills from April, which will be announced on Tuesday. Watchdog Ofgem will reveal the new energy price cap for April until July. Experts have forecast bills will rise by about 5% compared with what they are currently.
Prices are set independently from the Government and DESNZ said the anticipated hike is due to “gas price spikes” this winter and the ongoing effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This Government is determined to do everything we can to protect people from the grip of fossil fuel markets.
“Expanding the Warm Home Discount can help protect millions of families from rising energy bills, offering support to consumers across the country. “This is a Government that will always stand up for working people. “Alongside this, the way to deliver energy security and bring down bills for good is to deliver our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower – with homegrown clean power that we in Britain control.”.
The Government will work with Ofgem to speed-up proposals on a possible debt relief scheme. This would target “unsustainable debt built up during the energy crisis”. “The proposed debt support scheme, alongside the Warm Home Discount, is an important first step to cut the costs of servicing bad debt, which is currently contributing to higher bills for all billpayers”, DESNZ added.
It said they aim to “reduce the debt allowance to pre-crisis levels” and that Ofgem has estimated the plans could lower these costs by £25 to £30 a year. Jonathan Brearley, the watchdog’s chief executive, said: “Energy debts that began during the energy crisis have reached record levels and without intervention will continue to grow.
“This puts families under huge stress and increases costs for all customers. “We’re developing plans that could give households with unmanageable debt the clean slate they need to move forward. “We welcome the Government’s support for these plans, and their plans to expand the Warm Home Discount, which will also offer financial help to nearly three million more households that need it most.”.
