Ministers must do more in crisis, says £1million a year energy boss

‘Concern turning to genuine fear’

MINISTERS must step up and support Britons through the cost of living crisis, one of the country’s top energy bosses has said.

ScottishPower chief executive Keith Anderson said people are feeling ‘genuine fear’ as energy bills rise ‘off the charts and out of reach’.

Mr Anderson said ministers must support people in Britain in the same way as they support Ukrainians affected by the war.

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.

ScottishPower, headquartered in Glasgow, posted profits of £78million last year and Mr Anderson’s salary is reported to be in excess of £1million.

Mr Anderson said: ‘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.’ He added: ‘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 Mr Anderson – met 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.

Last week three ‘peaceful, dignified’ groups ‘spanning political divides’ protested at the ScottishPower offices, Mr Anderson said. He said they all had ‘one message – people urgently need help to get through this’.

Bills are now forecast to rise to almost £5,300 for the average household from April next year.

In May this year, energy experts had predicted bills would peak at about £2,800.

Mr Anderson said: ‘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 added: ‘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 ten 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 de-linking electricity prices from gas, to better reflect the use of cheaper green energy in our mix.