Chancellor expected to extend UK Government support for energy bills

It is understood that The UK Government's support for energy bills will be extended for an additional three months.

At the moment, the support is set to reduce as of April 1 2023.

However, The Chancellor is expected to cancel that reduction, which would have seen typical annual household bills rise to £3,000.

It's widely expected that Jeremy Hunt will make an announcement in his Budget, which is due a week on Wednesday.

'A victory'

Glasgow energy campaigners are welcoming the possibility of the scheme being extended.

But, the Power to the People campaign says the support on offer does not go far enough to address the problem.

Activist Coll McCail said: "If energy price guarantee is extended, then that's a victory for campaigners and for those that have been fighting against the energy companies rip off of working people across this country for years.

"So, it's a good thing in itself if bills are kept at £2,500. However there are millions of people across the country struggling to pay their energy bills right now.

'We need wholesale reform'

He added: "There's no doubt that the energy price guarantee and the payments have helped to keep loads of people above water, but lots of people haven't.

"They're struggling to pay their bills and they have been for months now.

"The way it works is that it's taxpayers' money being used to subsidise the energy companies - that means our pay is going to energy companies to inflate their profits under the guise of keeping our bills down.

"So whilst these £67 payments have been helpful in many instances, we need wholesale reform of this energy system."

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