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‘Not again’: Winter energy bills to soar as fears rise over shortages | Politics | News
Households across Britain face a second winter of sky-high energy bills due to a lack of gas storage facilities to prevent supply shortages.
Days after British Gas owner Centrica announced record profits of £969million, energy experts have warned the UK’s continued dependence on imports will put us at the mercy of wholesale price fluctuations.
They argue the Government has failed to ensure the country is fully prepared for a cold winter when increased demand for gas and electricity will bring a repeat of the misery suffered last year.
Global gas prices soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused supply issues.
Analysis by the International Monetary Fund found household budgets here were hit “harder than any country in western Europe” by energy costs last year.
This was partly because many gas storage facilities were closed in 2017.
They are set to be re-opened but the UK can currently only store enough gas to last a few days – while countries such as Germany and the Netherlands can hold enough to meet months of demand.
Rishi Sunak is set to announce fresh investment in Britain’s oil, gas and renewable energy industry to ensure tyrants like Vladimir Putin can never again use energy as a weapon to blackmail.
The Prime Minister and Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps will meet industry leaders this week to discuss boosting home-grown production and storage.
But energy insiders fear a harsh winter could leave millions unable to pay their bills. They have urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to draw up plans to bail out the poorest households with further subsidies on fuel bills, the Sunday Express has learned.
A spokesperson for Energy UK, which represents suppliers, said: “While prices have fallen, they are still extremely challenging for many customers and further increases cannot be ruled out.
“This winter will be difficult for many households and businesses. It is therefore essential the Government is ready with a targeted mechanism for customer support which can respond to events.”
Leading think tank the Henry Jackson Society is also warning the Chancellor must be prepared to offer further support, with subsidies targeted at people on lower incomes to reduce the cost to the Treasury.
It will say in a report this week: “Experts agree the winter of 2023/24 is not going to be any easier than the previous ones.
“It could be even worse.”
The report will add: “We urge the Government to continue with price caps (and similar subsidies for energy bills) whenever necessary to help households and businesses survive the winter.”
Centrica’s announcement of record six-month profits for British Gas – up from £98million a year earlier to £969million – was met with anger by customers.
The surge has been blamed on energy watchdog Ofgem raising its price cap to allow suppliers to charge more.
It currently limits annual bills to £2,074 for a typical household, down from £4,279 in November last year.
The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee also limits household bills but this is set at £3,000, which means costs could increase significantly. Industry insiders say allowing bills to come close to the £3,000 mark would leave millions unable to pay.
Ofgem figures showed 845,555 households were in arrears on their gas bill in the first quarter of this year, up from 598,300 in 2019.
Labour on Saturday night claimed the loss of storage facilities had cost £1.7billion by forcing the nation to buy gas at higher prices rather than buying when the charge was low and storing it.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Yet another failure on energy security hasn’t just left families paying more, it’s left us exposed and reliant on others.”
But the Tories hit back and accused Labour of putting 213,000 jobs at risk with plans to ban new oil and gas licenses.
A Conservative analysis found the policy could cost an additional £87billion in lost revenues, with Labour abandoning up to 1.16 billion barrels of oil and more than 19.8 billion therms of gas.
Mr Shapps said: “Energy security is national security. Since the illegal invasion of Ukraine the Government has driven Putin from our energy market, paid around half of a typical family’s energy bill and grown our economy by driving forward major energy projects.
“This week we will go even further, forging ahead with critical measures to power up Britain from Britain – including supporting our invaluable oil and gas industry, making the most of our home-grown energy sources and backing British innovation in renewables.”
Mumbai:
The Indian equity benchmark indices opened higher on Friday amid positive global cues, as buying was seen in the IT, pharma and auto sectors in the early trade.
At around 9.27 am, Sensex was trading 265.3 points or 0.33 per cent up at 80,066.81 while the Nifty added 89.85 points or 0.37 per cent at 24,336.55.
Nifty Bank was down 222.85 points or 0.40 per cent at 54,978.55. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 54,980.80 after increasing 10.95 points or 0.02 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 16,903.30 after declining 60.20 points or 0.35 per cent.
According to market watchers, “after a positive opening, Nifty can find support at 24,200 followed by 24,100 and 24,000. On the higher side, 24,500 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,600 and 24,700.
“The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 55,000 followed by 54,700 and 54,500. If the index advances further, 55,500 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 55,800 and 56,200,” said Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst of Choice Broking.
Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, TCS, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Eternal, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Infosys, M&M and Tata Motors were the top gainers. Whereas, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India and IndusInd Bank were the top losers.
In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US added 1.23 per cent to close at 40,093.40. The S&P 500 climbed 2.03 per cent to 5,484.77 and the Nasdaq added 2.74 per cent to close at 17,166.04.
In the Asian markets, Jakarta, Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, China and Japan were trading in green.
According to analysts, US markets extended their rally on Thursday as investors snapped up hard-hit technology stocks, helping boost the S&P 500 out of correction territory.
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,250.53 crore on April 24. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities of Rs 534.54 crore on the same day.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Mumbai:
Indian equity markets are trading in the red as tensions soar between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir. Sensex, the 30-share BSE benchmark, has crashed over 1,000 points and is now trading below the 79,000-mark. Nifty, the NSE index of 50 shares, fell below 24,000 points.
The markets went up in early trade, driven by a global rally and fund inflows, but the momentum got lost thereafter, and it gave up the initial gains.
The markets are also upset by unimpressive March quarter earnings by Axis Bank, the third-largest private sector bank of the country. The bank’s shares have fallen 4.65% after reporting a decline in quarterly profit from Rs 7,130 crore in the year-ago period to Rs 7,117 crore.
Besides Axis Bank, major laggards include Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, and Tech Mahindra. On the gaining side are TCS, Infosys, Reliance, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.
At least 26 civilians were massacred by terrorists in a tourist hotspot known as ‘Mini Switzerland’, leading to both countries pulling out their diplomatic staff and suspending visas issued to the other nation’s citizens. (Follow live updates here)
The latest flare-up at the Line of Control was speculative firing by Pakistani troops, which is being seen as an attempt to provoke the Indian side. Indian troops retaliated effectively against the firing from multiple Pakistani posts.
As Indian equities braced for the impact, global equities, including the Asian markets, were charting in the positive territory. South Korea’s Kospi index, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Shanghai SSE Composite were all in green.
Similar trends were seen in US equities, too. Last evening, Nasdaq Composite closed 2.74 per cent higher. S&P 500 jumped over 2 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.23 per cent.
Mumbai:
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday amid profit-taking after a seven-day rally and muted trend in Asian markets.
The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 242.01 points to 79,874.48 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went down by 72.3 points to 24,256.65.
In the past seven trading days, the BSE benchmark gauge zoomed 6,269.34 points or 8.48 per cent and the Nifty jumped 1,929.8 points or 8.61 per cent.
From the Sensex firms, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, and Tata Motors were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index, Shanghai SSE Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading lower while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 quoted in the positive territory.
US markets ended sharply higher on Wednesday. Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.50 per cent, S&P 500 surged 1.67 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.07 per cent.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.12 per cent to USD 66.20 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,332.93 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
The BSE benchmark jumped 520.90 points or 0.65 per cent to settle at 80,116.49, the highest closing level since December 18, on Wednesday. The Nifty rallied 161.70 points or 0.67 per cent to 24,328.95.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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