Energy bosses have warned there will be a "significantly larger number of people moving into fuel poverty" this winter, as price rises continue to bite.
The chiefs of E.ON, EDF, Scottish Power and Centrica all called on the Government to take much stronger action to support customers to avoid a "crisis" this year. Scottish Power boss Keith Anderson said the Treasury should look at introducing a "social tariff" which could take as much as £1,000 off the bills of the most vulnerable.
The tariff would be funded by the industry and could require each supplier to pay a sum into a central pot based on the number of customers they serve. A discount payment would then be paid back to suppliers based on the number of customers they have in fuel poverty.