Energy bosses have been “hauled in” before government to discuss what they are going to do with their rising profits as household bills soar, the education secretary has told Sky News.
James Cleverly said Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng are to meet with leaders of energy companies as calls grow for more to be done to ease the cost of living crisis.
He told Sky News: “The chancellor and the business secretary have hauled in the leaders of the energy companies to hold them to account, to discuss with them what they are going to do with these unexpected, unplanned, unprecedented profits that they have been making because of that sudden spike in energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
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Mr Cleverly also failed to deny there could be blackouts this winter, but did say the UK was in a “better position than many in terms of our domestic energy production”.
AdvertisementIt follows reports in The Sun that energy sector bosses will take part in crisis talks with ministers tomorrow, after the price cap was forecast to hit more than £4,200 in January.
The newspaper reported gas and electricity executives will meet with cabinet ministers on Thursday morning, when the bosses will be asked to submit a breakdown of expected profits and payouts as well as investment plans for the next three years.
More on Cost Of Living Related Topics: Cost of livingHowever, no major announcements on money will be made before the new prime minister takes office next month, Sky News understands.
There has been widespread anger at Shell, BP, and British Gas owner Centrica announcing bumper financial results while households struggle to cope with soaring bills.
Earlier on Sky News Conservative MP Theresa Villiers, who is a supporter of Rishi Sunak in the leadership race, hinted the former chancellor may increase levies on energy companies.
She said: “[Mr Sunak has] already been responsible for additional taxation on the big oil companies, and I’m sure looking at these matters to see if the oil and energy companies can contribute more.”
Read more:How ‘electric homes’ are saving on billsWhat is the energy price cap and why will bills rise so fast?
4:45 How Russia affects our energy billsMillions of UK homes already in debt
Millions of UK homes are already in debt over their energy bills – with £1.3 billion owed, even before bills are set to soar by more than 80%, according to analysts at Uswitch.
Calls have been growing for Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to hold emergency talks to thrash out a new financial package of measures before the Tory leadership contest is over.
But last night Ms Truss branded that proposal a “kangaroo committee” and ruled out widespread cash handouts to deal with the crisis as “Gordon Brown economics”.
The former Labour prime minister has been leading the charge for further action after a report he commissioned found families are £1,600 worse off due to the cost of living crisis, even after government help is taken into account.
There have been questions as to why the party’s current leader Sir Keir Starmer hasn’t been as vocal as his predecessor.
Asked about his whereabouts on Sky News, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Keir Starmer like everyone is entitled to a holiday, that’s perfectly fine. You’ll be hearing a lot more from us soon about the additional support that we need to put in place for families.”
1:33 ‘People will go hungry and cold’‘International effort’ needed to bring down costs
The Lib Dems have demanded parliament be recalled from its summer recess to pass a law to scrap impending hikes in energy prices.
Leader Ed Davey has set out how he would deal with the energy crisis, saying a new “energy furlough scheme” should be brought in, and the government should absorb the £36bn cost of the hike.
But Ms Phillipson said that it was “a bit hard to take lectures from Ed Davey”.
“He was secretary of state responsible for energy and climate change in the Conservative-Lib Dem government”, she said.
“It was his government’s failure to plan for the long term, to deliver a new generation of nuclear power stations, to insulate our homes, that cut back on renewable energy, that has left us in this position.”
Mr Cleverly, who is backing Ms Truss in the leadership race, said the solution was more complex than demanding a recall of parliament “so all these problems go away”.
He said the government’s ultimate aim was to bring energy costs down but that this will take “international effort as well as domestic politics”.
6:13 Why high energy bills hit everything‘Bury your differences’
The meeting with energy firms comes after Downing Street faced a backlash for ruling out new measures, saying that was a task for the next PM.
On Tuesday, Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis called on the two contenders to bury their differences to tackle the problem together, warning the country was facing a “national cataclysm”.
He said the “zombie government needs to wake up sooner than 5 September”, when the new Tory leader and prime minister will be announced, as the new bill predictions are “unaffordable for millions”.
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Rishi Sunak has promised to give “hundreds of pounds” more to people for energy bills, while Liz Truss refused to commit to extra support for struggling families yesterday.
Ms Truss has insisted her priority was driving through tax cuts to kick-start the economy and would “see what the situation is like” in the autumn.