Thursday 8 September 2022

Liz Truss predicted to reveal £130bn bailout for energy bills

Later today, Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to announce her highly anticipated reaction to energy bills and the cost-of-living crisis.

She is reportedly set to implement a bill freeze of £2,500 a year until 2024, which will equate to a reported cost of £130 billion in taxpayer cash.

Ofgem announced that the energy price cap would rise to £3,459 from October, seeing the task of many households paying for their energy becoming insurmountable.

The impact of this rise will not only impact households but many businesses, with Truss’ announcement also expected to accommodate for business security concerns.

At the moment, a typical home pays £1,971 annually for its gas and electricity – but this will hike yet again next month, as the war continues to be waged in Ukraine and Russian gas remains at a premium.

Ahead of today’s announcement, the Prime Minister said: “Putin's war in Ukraine and weaponisation of gas supply in Europe is causing global prices to rise - and this has only made clearer that we must boost our long-term energy security and supply.”

To fight price rises, Truss is also expected to put a stop to the current pause on fracking for gas – and increase drilling operations for new oil supplies.

This move could see an already fractured Conservative Party split further, as some MPs take a vehement stance against fossil fuel continuation and other Tories are hopeful of its return.

“We will take action immediately to help people and businesses with bills but also take decisive action to tackle the root cause of these problems, so that we are not in this position again,” Truss added.