EVERY UK home will see their energy bill rise by up to £200 after a string of suppliers collapsed according to the firm behind British Gas.
The dire prediction, which will heap pressure on cash-strapped families, was made by Chris O’Shea, boss of energy giant Centrica, owner of the Big Six supplier.
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Record gas prices have forced 14 small suppliers serving more than 2 million customers out of business since August.
Mr O’Shea told a House of Lords select committee yesterday that these failures had left behind £2.5 billion in costs that would be recouped from all households – landing them with an extra £100 on their energy bills.
The total could even double if, as expected, more suppliers go out of business, Mr O’Shea said.
He warned that the charges would pile more pressure on the poorest households, many of which are already struggling with high bills.
It comes as new research found that as many as one in six families with children at home report being in arrears to their energy provider, or have been, in the last twelve months.
One in three (32 per cent ) are worried they will soon fall into arrears according to comparethemarket.com.
It blamed the record energy price cap increase of £139 per year in October.
Ursula Gibbs, director at comparethemarket.com, said: “The current energy crisis is sadly showing no signs of ending.
“The price cap increase is a concern for many and millions of households are facing a significant increase to their outgoings as a result, which will unfortunately push many into debt with their supplier.”
Yesterday ministers set out a new funding model designed to encourage investment in new nuclear reactors which should help reduce the UK’s reliance on gas.
It paves the way for the £20billion Sizewell C project in Suffolk, plus the Wylfa reactor in Wales.
Energy price cap rise could leave more than five million households in the cold
