PM Announces Energy Bill Bailout

Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced a new Energy Price Guarantee, following through on her promise of ‘immediate action to help people and businesses’ with soaring energy bills. In her first Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQ) on 8^th September, Truss rejected calls for a windfall tax on energy company profits, insisting that the country cannot ‘tax our way to growth;’ a stance that she reiterated in her Commons address on 9^th September.

The Prime Minister’s new energy plan will:

• Cap energy bills ensuring that a typical U.K. household will pay no more than £2,500 a year
• Impose an Energy Price Guarantee which will limit the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas
• Provide a £400 energy bill discount as promised by former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak
• Cap energy prices for businesses at the same price per unit as households for six months

In recognition of the difficulties faced by different industries across the country, Truss also announced a review of energy caps for businesses, with the potential to extend the bill cap for certain industries and vulnerable businesses.

Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the cap but continued to question the PM on how the country will pay for this package. New Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to set out the cost of the energy package in a fiscal statement later this month.

You can read the government’s press release here and stay up to date with other government updates here.