People are in for a “catastrophic winter” unless the government does more to help, says EDF.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Half of UK households are facing fuel poverty this winter unless the government does more to help with energy bills, EDF has warned.
Philippe Commaret, EDF Energy UK’s managing director for customers, said without further support, people face a “catastrophic winter”.
Energy bills are predicted to be nearly four times more than last winter.
A household is considered to be in fuel poverty if it has to spend 10% or more of its disposable income on energy.
From October, all UK households will start receiving payments providing a £400 discount on their fuel bills, with eight million low-income households set to receive an additional £650.
The Liberal Democrats, Labour and most major energy suppliers are calling for further support for households, including for the energy price cap to be frozen at current levels.
The government has said no further measures will be announced before a new prime minister is in place from 5 September.
“All ideas to keep bills for customers flat should be considered,” Mr Commaret said.
“Without further support from the government, more than half of UK households will likely be in fuel poverty by January,” he said.
“By way of context, I have to mention that we face, despite the support that the government [has] already announced, a dramatic and catastrophic winter for our customer,” he said.
On Friday, the new energy price cap – the maximum amount suppliers can charge customers in England, Scotland and Wales for each unit of energy – will be announced. The typical bill for an average household is expected to rise to more than £3,500 from October, up from the current figure of £1,971.
A sharp rise in wholesale gas prices this week means bills are likely to rise even further next year, to as much as £4,650 from January.
On Monday the price of gas soared after Russia said it would close down a key pipeline for maintenance work. Experts fear the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which delivers Russian gas to Germany, may not reopen.
But it is not just energy prices that are putting the squeeze on households. Overall, inflation reached 10.1% in July, pushed higher by rising food costs, especially for staples such as bread, milk, pasta and butter. Investment bank Citi predicts that inflation could pass 18% next year.
Mr Commaret said any customers concerned about their bill should contact EDF for further support.
Plans to enable households to get discounts on electricity bills if they cut use at peak times are set to be announced by the National Grid in the next two weeks.
Mr Commaret said EDF was providing additional help and advice to its 100,000 UK customers via an app to help customers identify ways to save fuel.
For example, he said UK households could save £60 a year by switching off appliances that were not being used.
EDF, which supplies gas and electricity to UK households, is 84% owned by the French state, but will soon be fully nationalised.