Westminster struggles to cushion the blow as gas prices hit unprecedented highs
You can sense the sudden political alarm in Westminster. What, if anything, can be done to cushion the blow of higher energy bills that will hit consumers next April?
It seemed until recently that ministers’ plan A was to pray that wholesale gas prices in Europe would fall after their surge in the early autumn, thereby limiting the increase in average annual household domestic energy bills to £250 or so. There is not even a remote chance of such a gentle outcome now. Gas prices have been setting new highs this week, coupled with mentions of the word “unprecedented”. The current wholesale price of 400p-ish a therm compares to 60p-ish at the start of the year.
