While strikes and protests over the cost of living have forced the government to keep the Energy Price Cap at £2,500, the average monthly bill will still rise by £66 from April.
Jeremy Hunt’s u-turn on plans to hike the Energy Price Guarantee is little more than a bail-out for energy suppliers in the face of soaring consumer debt, while fossil fuel giants will be left to keep raking in huge profits. But the voucher scheme, which (allegedly) gave every household £66 a month to help with bills will end on April Fuel’s Day.
“Now it’s time for us to push on for a real transformation of our energy system.” Say Don’t Pay UK.
The Don’t Pay Campaign are calling for the energy price cap to be turned down to its pre-April 2021 level. Of course this was unaffordable for millions then, and it’s worse now, but it’s a start and leads to the further demand for a sustainable energy system. Nationalisation is one proposal, but this will only work with fundamental system change.
Coming up:
Liverpool Don’t Pay April Fuel’s Day statues. A daily satire from some of Liverpool’s best known historical figures as we countdown to:
‘Your Heating Chart’. A video sing-along.
Also: Fuel Poverty Action is calling for #EnergyForAll.
#EnergyForAll means giving everyone a free amount of energy – that is enough energy, free, to cover the basics like heating, cooking, and lighting – to give us all the security we need, taking account of people’s actual needs related to their age, health, and housing. To pay for this new pricing system, Energy for All, we’re urging the Government to introduce a Windfall Tax on the profits of oil and gas producers, traders and suppliers, and to STOP subsidising fossil fuels with millions of pounds every day.