The UK Government was right to support the people of Ukraine, but must now step up and support Britons through the cost-of-living crisis the conflict there has stoked.
ScottishPower chief executive Keith Anderson said that people are feeling “genuine fear” as energy bills rise “off the charts and out of reach”.
He called on the government to double the support packages that it put into place in May this year – which promised £400 for all households and up to £1,200 for the most vulnerable.
“People’s concern about how they’re going to make ends meet when the price cap goes up at the start of October is palpable, and turning to genuine fear,” Anderson said.
He warned that the “tough conditions for UK households are going to get much, much worse before they get better – and are going to endure for longer than any of us could have expected”.
The call comes days after energy bosses - including Anderson - met with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other cabinet members to discuss the crisis.
The meeting appeared unfruitful, with the government saying it would not make any major decisions until the new prime minister is installed early next month.
This week three “peaceful, dignified” groups “spanning political divides” have protested at the ScottishPower offices, Anderson said: “All with one message; people urgently need help to get through this.”
Bills were this week forecast to rise to close to £5,300 for the average household per year in April. The rises will eat up support announced in May, when experts thought that bills would peak at £2,800.
Anderson said that households will need the same again to get through what experts are currently forecasting.
“We should look to the lessons of the pandemic to offer support on the size and scale needed to see households through the worst of the pain this winter and over the course of the next two years,” he said, adding: “Alongside other support measures, the government could set up a deficit fund to cover the difference between what people pay and how much it costs to supply their homes with gas and electricity.
“The fund could be underwritten by the government, or a willing financial institution, and repaid over a 10 to 15-year period to smooth out the costs.
“We can use the time to speed up investment in cheap green energy, to cut energy use and emissions by more ambitious energy efficiency programmes, and to make progress in delinking electricity prices from gas, to better reflect the use of cheaper green energy in our mix,” he added.
“Britain has rightly stood up for Ukraine, standing united with those in need and we must continue to do; but we must also support people here during these unprecedented times.”
Sir Keir Starmer has set out a “very strong, robust, costed plan” to stop energy bills rising over the winter – paid for in part by an extension of the windfall levy on the profits of the oil and gas companies.
The Labour leader said the £29bn plan to address the “national emergency” would freeze the energy price cap at its current level of £1,971, saving the average household £1,000.
He contrasted Labour’s proposal with the inaction of “lame duck” Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the “internal battle” of the Tory leadership contest, increasing the pressure on contenders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to spell out how they would help families struggling with soaring bills.
Starmer added that scrapping the planned increases in the price cap would keep inflation down, seeing it peak at about 9% rather than the 13% the Bank of England is forecasting, making future interest rate rises less likely.
He criticised the government and the Conservative leadership hopefuls, who both oppose extending the windfall tax.
“We’ve got to grip it because at the moment what we’ve got is two Tory leadership candidates who are fighting each other in a sort of internal battle, where their main argument seem to be about how awful their record in government has been and a Prime Minister who’s a lame duck because he’s acknowledged there’s a problem with energy bills, but says ‘I’m not going to do anything about it’,” he said.
However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) questioned Labour’s explanation as to how it would fund the support package.
IFS director Paul Johnson said the party’s plan to cancel the energy price cap rise - if extended from the proposed six months to a year - would be “looking at the cost of furlough.”
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
