Energy firm chiefs today warned thousands more Brits are set to fall into debt with at least four in 10 people braced for fuel poverty in October.
The Chancellor is apparently deciding whether to help struggling households before the price cap rises again later this year.
But after his disastrous Spring Statement Rishi Sunak insisted he "can't do everything" and solve "every problem" to help hardworking families through the challenging months ahead.
Simone Rossi, chief executive of EDF energy warned households “haven’t seen the worst yet” even after people were slapped with “unprecedented” rises in energy bills on April 1.
Scottish Power chief executive Keith Anderson urged the Government to take £1,000 off the bills of the poorest people in the country in October.
The Government or bill-payers would then pay this off over 10 years, he suggested.
“I’m hugely concerned for people”, Mr Anderson told MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
“So many people are going to struggle with this issue. We’re seeing there were 8,000 calls last week from customers concerned with their ability to pay, and that’s just the first few weeks after this price increase.”
He said it is "perverse" that customers with prepayment meters - who are likely to be more vulnerable - pay more for their energy than those who pay by direct debit.
Michael Lewis, CEO of E.ON energy backed the notion of a social tariff but warned as many as 40% of people could go into fuel poverty from October when the price cap is likely to rise once more.
“In the short term, the Government needs to do more. Removing environmental levies, reducing VAT to zero, extending warm homes discount - these are all tangible things [the Government] can do before October.
“We’re looking at 30-40% of people going into fuel poverty when price goes up in October.”
EDF estimates that its most vulnerable tenth of customers will go from paying £1 in every £12 they have on energy bills to £1 in every £6.
Centrica boss Chris O'Shea said prepayment customers will start seeing a real increase in October.
At the start of April the price of energy soared by around 54% for the average household, but meanwhile the weather is getting warmer, so consumption is likely to drop.
Three million people have expressed their fear falling into debt within the next three months as the Government fails to help struggling households, a poll revealed.
People with incomes of less than £21,000 per year will fall deep into the debt-poverty cycle as at least 40% of their income had been going on debt repayments, even before inflation rocketed to 6.2%, the Jubilee Debt Campaign anti-poverty group found.
Mr Lewis warned total debt could increase by £800million, a 50% increase from its current value of £1.6billion.
Experts fear the energy price cap cold increase by 40-50% when it is next revised in October.
It comes as Hayden Wood, CEO of the busted energy supply firm Bulb admitted to still being handed a taxpayer-funded salary of £250k.
Hayden Wood, who set up the company, was asked by administrators to stay on in his role as chief executive after it failed in November, and continues to receive nearly £21,000 a month.
Bulb was bailed out by the Government last year and ministers set aside £1.7 billion to cover the normal running of the firm until a buyer could be found.
In September, the chief executive tweeted an energy price "crisis" was being pumped up by the former Big Six energy suppliers.
When Bulb collapsed it had around 1.6 million customers on its books, meaning it was too big for the Government to allow it to go through the normal process that suppliers enter when they fail.
Ed Miliband, Shadow Secretary of State of Climate Change and Net Zero said: “As energy bills rise by record amounts for millions of families, it is shameful that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are refusing to support the British people facing a cost of living crisis.
“It tells you everything you need to know about this Government that they stand by whilst working people, families, and pensioners suffer. Britain deserves better.
"All they have to offer is a Buy Now Pay Later loan scheme that will saddle families with higher bills in years to come.
“Labour would introduce a package of real support to bring down bills by up to £600, funded by a one-off windfall tax on the oil and gas producers making record profits.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why we have a £22bn package of support, including a £150 council tax rebate this month, and a £200 energy bill discount in October to cut energy bills quickly for the majority of households.
“We are also expanding the eligibility for the Warm Home Discount, which will provide around 3 million low-income and vulnerable households across England and Wales with an £150 rebate on their energy bills this winter.
"The energy price cap also continues to insulate millions of households from even higher global gas prices.”
