LONDON (FT) - Energy bills in Britain will soar another 50% next year unless the government intervenes, the industry has warned.
Supplier EDF said the situation was “critical” as customers, already seeing record bills, are hit with more rises due to surging wholesale gas prices.
Emma Pinchbeck, head of trade body Energy UK, said rising prices were now starting to hurt the economy.
The government said it had measures to protect consumers, but she said that tax cuts and green levies would help.
Other European governments, also hit by the global rise in energy costs, were doing more, Ms Pinchbeck said.
“We’ve had record-breaking gas prices since September, and over the last couple of weeks prices have spiked again,” she said. “They are at levels that, frankly, we have not seen before.
“It’s looking pretty serious for the spring. Domestic energy bills are going to go up 45-50%.”
Wholesale costs hit another record this week of 450p a therm, which experts predict could take average annual bills to about £2,000 next year.
Economic damage
Ms Pinchbeck said that across Europe, governments were asking energy-intensive commercial users to curb demand from factories in order to make savings and ease the knock-on impact.
“We are asking our Treasury to intervene as other governments have. When it comes to bills, it’s worth remembering that less than a fifth is in the control of suppliers,” she said.