Oleg Burunov

In late February, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned that the sanctions London had slapped on Moscow in retaliation for Russia's special military operation in Ukraine would worsen the UK cost of living crisis, and that Britain must be prepared to take an "economic hit".

At least 40% of British households will live in fuel poverty this autumn if a "very substantial" government intervention doesn't take place, Michael Lewis, the chief executive of the energy firm E.ON UK, has warned.

Fuel poverty is a term used to describe those households who have to spend more than 10% of their disposable income on home energy in order to maintain an adequate standard of warmth.

"Frankly, some people are at the edge, they simply cannot pay and that will get worse once prices go up again in October," which will see "a price increase and an increase in consumption, that's when it's going to hit and that's why we've called for more government intervention", Lewis told the BBC on Monday.

The E.ON UK chief executive stressed that "the most important thing is that the government intervenes - it is up to the government to decide how they fund that".

Five Million UK Households 'Pushed' Towards 'Fuel Stress' As Energy Price Cap Rises to Almost £2K

According to him, "All I would say is that when they're taxing to address this challenge, that they tax those with the broadest shoulders".

He said it was "impossible to say"' what the new price cap will be in October, but added that suggestions the figure could rise to £2,800 ($3,519) are in "the right ballpark". Lewis declined to rule out that the price cap could finally soar to £3,000 ($3,770) in the autumn, as compared to £1,277 ($1,605) that families were paying before April.

Lewis argued that the rise in prices was "predominantly" down to the ongoing Ukraine conflict, which disrupts energy supplies from Russia, adding, "in my 30 years in the energy industry I have never seen prices increase at this rate".

22 May 2022   Extract from article in Sputniknews