Scottish Power boss Keith Anderson has suggested creating a new “energy fund” to offset the expected rise in energy bills across the country.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will meet with energy executives and others regarding the spiralling energy costs to households across the country.
On Friday, August 26, energy regulator Ofgem will announce the latest energy price cap.
In April, the price cap was raised by over 54%, meaning an average household was now paying over £1,900 for a year for energy.
The average household bill for gas and electricity could go reach £4,650 per year in January, according to analysts Cornwall Insight.
A meeting convened on Tuesday by Ms Sturgeon will look into what can be done to protect customers who are already feeling the squeeze.
Many households are buckling under the weight of massive energy bills, with many left with limited choices for heating and eating.
Speaking to BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Scottish Power chief executive Keith Anderson suggested an energy fund that would help offset the price rise.
He said: “The prices that we are seeing and the pressure that will put on average households in terms of the choices they make about heating, powering their home and cooking their food is going to be horrific.
‘Most important thing is to protect customers’
“A few months ago, I brought forward a proposal to freeze the price of energy, and again that is what we will be discussing with the first minister and the UK Government.
“We have got to the stage that this is a national crisis, it is of the scale of the pandemic, and we need national action.”
Mr Anderson proposes to freeze energy prices at their current level, and any costs above that would go into a fund that could be repaid over the next 15 to 20 years.
He believes it is the only way to protect customers and get through the winter months.
He said: “The reason I’m saying put the money in a fund is it buys us time. It gives us time and options.
“One, it will help people now, secondly, it will help inflation as it will bring down the cost of energy, and thirdly it gives us time to resolve the problem because the long-term resolution has to be stop using gas, that’s the way we get out of this problem.”
However, Mr Anderson warned that freezing prices at their current levels for just two years would cost £100 billion, twice the annual budget of the Scottish Government.
He said the crisis that is coming is so huge that “bigger and bolder steps”, such as a price freeze, need to be taken to prevent it.
He said: “Hopefully, what we will get out of today’s meeting is a consensus of all of the parties at the meeting, and that the first and most important thing is to protect customers and to stop this price from hitting customer’s bills.
“If we can all agree on that then it sends a very powerful message to Westminster.”
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