Cost of living – live: Borrowing money to pay energy bills could ‘spark housing crisis’

Miatta Fahnbulleh, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, laid out three steps the government should to confront the energy crisis.

She said: “ 1. Increase the #windfalltax on energy companies to reduce rising bills for those at the sharp end of the crisis.

“2. Fix our broken #energymarket: creating a collectively-owned provider that takes customers of bust companies & floods the market with cheaper #renewableenergy

“3. Insulate 19m homes to reduce people’s bills and carbon emissions, and keep homes warmer, with a nationwide #GreatHomesUpgrade.”

The government must release an imminent package of support to help struggling households cope with soaring energy bills, Martin Lewis has urged.

With an energy price cap rising to £3,500 or more, the Money Saving Expert founder said the “zombie government” must not wait until the end of the Tory leadership contest to decide on help for households.

He dismissed the extra help promised by Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss during their leadership bids as “trivial” in the face of bills which are set to be £2,300 a year higher than they were last October.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “It’s going to throw many households into a terribly difficult financial situation that will leave them making some awful choices.”

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Liz Truss has said it is “not time for another windfall tax” to help with the cost of energy bills.

Speaking to reporters in Leeds, the Foreign Secretary said: “What I believe is we need to keep taxes low to attract investment into industries.

“We need to turbocharge investment into the North of England, bringing more businesses and opportunities.

“The best way to do that is to keep taxes low and attract that investment into our great towns and cities, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Asked how she would help people afford to pay their bills this winter if she became Conservative Party leader and prime minister, she said: “I understand that families are really struggling at this time, we’ve seen a rise in global energy prices.

“That’s why I would reverse the National Insurance increase, putting more money back into people’s pockets. We’ll also have a temporary moratorium on the green levy, to cut people’s energy bills.

“What we also need to do is make sure we produce more domestically produced gas, so that we are able to increase supply and keep prices as low as possible, and that’s really important as we head to net zero, using gas for our transition.”

An urgent package of support to help households cope with soaring energy bills should be thrashed out by Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, a consumer champion has demanded.

Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis said the “zombie government” must not wait until the conclusion of the Tory leadership contest to decide on help for households who will face the energy price cap rising to £3,500 or more.

He dismissed the extra help promised by Mr Sunak and Ms Truss during their leadership bids as “trivial” in the face of bills which are set to be £2,300 a year higher than they were last October.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

“It’s going to throw many households into a terribly difficult financial situation that will leave them making some awful choices.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the data that informs the price cap suggested it would increase 77% on top of a 52% rise in April, taking the typical bill to £3,500 a year.

“Others say it will be higher,” he warned.

“We are expecting it to rise again in January.”

Mr Lewis said the choice facing the Government was “you either have to cut prices for people or you have to put more money in their pockets, especially at the poorest level”.

But he added: “The problem is we have this zombie government at the moment that can’t make any big decisions.”

British Gas owner Centrica has seen operating profits increase five-fold to £1.34 billion as energy bills soar.

The company’s profits for the six months to the end of June were a substantial increase on earnings compared to the £262m recorded in the same period last year.

The energy giant announced it would be reinstating its dividend at 1p per share this year after suspending it for three years.

Group chief executive Chris O’Shea reportedly claimed Centrica’s profits were not down to customers’ rising energy bills.

My colleague Chiara Giordano reports:

Oil company Shell has reported record profits of $11.5bn, doubling its earnings in a single year amid surging energy prices.

This is up from $5.5bn in April-June 2021- marking a $6bn increase in profits- and up from $9.1 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

The oil giant recorded a fourteen-fold increase in quarterly profits earlier this year which had reignited calls for a windfall tax to relieve the burden on struggling families during the worsening cost of living crisis.

Welcome to The Independent’s Energy Price live blog, where we will keep you up to speed with all the latest updates today.