Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has outlined a package of Budget measures designed to ease the pressure of high energy bills, including £100 payments to millions of households and an extension of the VAT cut on electricity.
Writing for the Mirror, Fahnbulleh said families should never have to worry about whether they can afford to pay their energy bills. She acknowledged that many readers have been struggling with rising costs and do not know how to justify putting the heating on, describing energy as an everyday essential, not a luxury.
What the Budget delivers for households
From January, millions of households will receive £100 from their local council directly into their bank account to help with energy costs. This is on top of the £150 Warm Home Discount, which around six million households will receive this winter. The government is also extending the cut to VAT on electricity bills until next summer.
The package also includes support for households that have fallen into debt with their energy suppliers in recent years, offering immediate relief and a route back to sustainable payments. Standing charges are to be removed from gas bills as early as next year, with targeted mitigations for homes that need it.
Long-term reform and clean power
Fahnbulleh said these steps will give people breathing space in the short term and take the sting out of high energy bills, but she was clear that the measures are not a silver bullet. The only way Britain can take control of its bills and bring them down for good, she argued, is to reform the system so the country is less exposed to global energy shocks.
That means getting more clean, homegrown power online and reducing reliance on expensive, volatile fossil fuels. Fahnbulleh said this involves building projects in the right places, with the grid to carry it, so that new energy projects lower bills for households across the country.
She pledged to continue driving towards cheap, clean power with affordability as her number one priority, and to keep doing everything she can to get bills down for good.
