As Gas Prices Soar, the UK Needs a Real Energy Plan
The next prime minister will have to deliver both short-term relief and longer-term reforms.
It’s a bit more complicated.
Photographer: James Manning/PA Images
As Russia’s war with Ukraine plods on, a pincer movement is advancing toward UK households this winter. The price of natural gas has doubled since April and is about seven times what it was a year ago. High gas prices boost electricity costs, which in turn push up the price for manufacturing inputs, food and pretty much everything else. With demand for energy set to rise for the colder months, the financial pressure on millions of British households could soon prove intolerable.
On Friday, the UK energy regulator said that the typical bill for household gas and electricity would rise from an already steep 1,971 pounds ($2,308) this month to more than 3,500 pounds in October — and forecasters are talking of bills well above 6,000 pounds by next spring. For many, such costs are completely unaffordable. Nearly 10 million Britons say they’ve skipped a meal or cut down on portion sizes because of rising prices; some 6.7 million have had to seek help from a food bank or charity.