LONDON, Aug 25 (AFP): Energy giant EDF on Thursday urged the UK government to double its energy support package for Britons to help offset an expected steep hike in household bills.
Regulator Ofgem is due to announce its latest energy price cap on Friday, with dire predictions it will leave many struggling to pay their bills.
The current maximum amount companies can charge customers in England, Scotland and Wales for each unit of energy used is £1,971 ($2,332) a year.
But it is expected to go up by some £1,600 from October, with a further hike to a total of £4,600 a year likely from January.
EDF's managing director for customers in the UK, Philippe Commaret, said the hike, at a time of double-digit inflation that has ramped up the cost of living, would be "catastrophic".
With millions at risk of being plunged into fuel poverty, he told AFP in an interview that the government needed to go further.
At present, all UK households are being offered a one-off discount of £400 to help them pay their energy bills for six months over winter.
"We're suggesting that the government revisits this £400 and use it for the last three months of 2022," said Commaret.
"(That) amounts to doubling the subsidy by the end of the year and then work on a more sustainable solution for 2023."
Energy prices rose sharply as the world economy reopened after the coronavirus pandemic and consumption increased, particularly in Asia.
The cost of wholesale gas and electricity has risen further as supplies were squeezed by Russian restrictions on gas exports after the invasion of Ukraine.
In theory, the UK market should have been more protected because it imports less Russian gas than its European neighbours.
But unlike countries such as France, where household energy bills are capped, the UK government passed on the increase to customers.
