GOVERNMENT EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE £10BN SUPPORT PACKAGE IN AN ATTEMPT TO CUT ENERGY BILLS THIS WINTER

The Government is expected to announce a £400 cut on energy bills for every home under a winter support package worth £10bn.

Additional help is expected for those on low incomes.

The package is expected to be funded partly by windfall taxation upon oil and gas companies which could raise and estimated 7bn.

Energy firm regulator Ofgem issued a stark warning earlier this week that a typical home energy bill could rise to as much as £2,800 from this October. This would plunge an estimated 12 million households into fuel poverty.

Opposition leaders have called for a windfall tax after energy companies were revealed to have made bumper profits following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

Shell is reported to have made a staggering 7bn in profits in the first quarter of 2022, whilst BP recorded a profit of 5bn in the same period.

The companies have warned that such a tax would result in a disruption of planning and investment and undermine investor confidence.

Campaign groups, however, say that the companies are raking in huge profits at the expense of hard working families who are struggling with rising costs of living across the board.

Ofgem has further warned that should Russia choose to disrupt supplies in the future, the price cap could rise even further beyond £2,800.

Although the UK only imports approximately 5% of its gas from Russia, it is still vulnerable from price increases per unit due to supply and demand taking effect as other countries seek to bolster supplies as they seek less reliance on Russian oil.