Britain must increase support for household energy bills - lawmakers

By Susanna Twidale

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government must increase the level of support it is offering households to help pay soaring energy bills this winter and should lay out plans for a national scheme to insulate homes, a cross-party group of lawmakers said on Tuesday.

The call comes as former finance minister Rishi Sunak and foreign secretary Liz Truss battle to become Britain's next prime minister, with both candidates under pressure to outline plans on how they would address soaring inflation and a growing cost-of-living squeeze.

“To prevent millions from dropping into unmanageable debt, it's imperative that the support package is updated and implemented before October,” said Darren Jones, chair of parliament's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee.

The cap on the most widely used household energy contracts is expected to rise by more than 60% in October due to high gas prices, taking average household yearly dual fuel bills to more than 3,200 pounds ($3,845).

The cap has already been greatly increased once this year, by 54% in April.

Charity National Energy Action said the October rise could push around 8.2 million people - or one in three British households - into energy poverty, defined as an inability to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

The government has already announced support including a 400 pound discount on energy bills for all households in October and a 650 pound means-tested one-off payment to the lowest-income households, but this was set when experts were expecting the October price cap to be set around 400 pounds lower.

The Committee said the government should consider introducing a social tariff, subsidising energy costs for the most vulnerable, and begin a programme to help people insulate their homes, which would keep bills down and also help reduce energy use and contribute to meeting the country’s climate target.

"If the Government is really taking this energy crisis and the country’s net zero targets seriously, it will come forward with a bold, fully funded, national home insulation program before the end of the year,” Jones said.

($1 = 0.8322 pounds)

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Jan Harvey)