Martin Lewis has warned that rising energy bills will cause a national crisis on the same scale as the Covid pandemic. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s the Today programme he said massive amounts of support were needed to help people with the rises expected this winter.
Bills are expected to more than double this winter. The average monthly bill is currently £164 but it is expected to rise to to £355 a month for an average household in January, according to the latest projection from Cornwall Insight. That's an average annual bill of £4,266.
Martin Lewis said the government needed to do more and that the meeting with big energy companies to discuss the windfall tax, on Thursday, August 11, was beneficial, but ultimately the government “is the only one that can make the decision to stop the terrible cataclysmic risk millions of people in our nation face this winter.”
READ MORE: Martin Lewis posts 'tragic' update on energy bills that will cripple households
Today programme host, Martha Kearney, asked if Boris Johnson’s successor would be able to help people with their bills. The government has announced a £15 billion emergency package to support households through the cost-of-living crisis. But Mr Lewis said that the government will need to double every number in that package to help with the financial strain millions will face.
He said: “By January, some people will see their bills go from £800 to £4,200 [per year] under the same use - this is a national crisis on the scale that we saw in the pandemic.
“Truss’ tax cuts will not help the millions of the poorest in society, who are making the choice between heating and eating.”
If bills rise as high as expected, state pensioners would have to use 45% of the full new state pension, and a higher proportion of the old one, on energy bills alone.
He added: “Tax cuts won't help the poorest pensioners or those on universal credit - dropping the green levy is like sticking a plaster on a gaping wound. More than 100,000 people are on the don’t pay group - we need firm decisions coming from the key parties.
“Just having green levy and tax cuts will leave millions in destitute and in danger this winter - that cannot happen in our country.”
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