The price of the bills of the light and the gas in British homes is going to increase by 80% from October 1, after the British energy regulator, Ofgem, raised the average limit that energy companies can charge users from the current 2,321 euros per year to 4,179 euros in October. This is equivalent to a monthly increase of 354 euros.
In United Kingdom The regulator sets every six months the limit that can be charged by electrical so that they do not abuse users, but it is an average price. Users pay more or less as they consume. The next review will be in January, when it is expected to reach 6,342 euros per year, about 647 euros per month, according to the energy consultant Cornwall Insight, a price that would be totally unaffordable for most citizens. This would cause the inflationwhich is already at 10.1%.
The Citigroup bank had already anticipated that the energy bill would triple in the next six months and that inflation would reach 18.6% in January 2023, exceeding the levels of 1976, when the United Kingdom had to request a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
record prices
The CEO of the British regulator, Jonathan Brearley, has explained that they have had no choice but to raise the cap. “The price of energy has reached record levels driven by an aggressive economic act of Russiawhich has slowly and deliberately cut off the gas supply to Europe causing damage to our homes, businesses and the economy in general & rdquor ;, Brearley has justified.
This announcement further increases the energy crisis in the UK despite the announcement this week of energy independence from Russia since last June. It is pointed out that the problem is the partial closure of the main Russian gas pipeline to Europe, North Stream 1which has caused countries that depended on Russian gas to look for alternatives to other countries that also supplied the United Kingdom, such as Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Kuwait.
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British finance minister, nadhim zahawisaid Vladimir Putin it is using energy as a weapon, which it will continue to do so, and which the British must stick together and resist for the long term. He also announced that they are preparing an aid package for families for next year and has asked citizens to try to save electricity and gas at home. Later, the prime minister, Boris Johnsonclarified that this aid would only be for 8% of the most vulnerable population.
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, journalist Aditya Chakrabortty warned that the UK is facing a winter of humanitarian crisis. “When the cap comes into force at the beginning of October, 25% of Britons will not be able to pay their energy bills. Simply because they do not have enough income, according to calculations by the NGO Citizens Advice & rdquor ;, he wrote. He also said that half of that 25% are “financially stable” people who will go under this winter.