Help for consumers’ energy costs is to be provided by allowing energy suppliers to take out government-backed loans in order to subsidise bills.
The plan, which had been suggested by the energy industry, is set to be announced on Thursday.
The “deficit reduction scheme” is expected to form the centre piece of the government’s attempt to tackle the high cost of energy for consumers.
Small business are also expected to be offered some relief.
Incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss used her victory speech on Monday to pledge to “deliver on the energy crisis” – with a price freeze widely expected.
Energy bills are rocketing and the cap on prices will go up on 1 October, meaning a typical British household is set to pay £3,549 a year on gas and electricity.
Energy bosses have insisted for some time that a government-backed superfund from which they could borrow to subsidise bills “is the only game in town”.
Under such a plan, the government would guarantee loans to energy companies that would be used to freeze or at least lower bills this winter and beyond. These loans would be repaid from bills over the next 10-20 years.
Scottish Power has said that freezing all bills at the current price cap of £1,971 for two years would cost nearly £100bn.
However, Dermot Nolan, former chief executive of energy regulator Ofgem, warned that this estimate could be “conservative”, and also questioned how much it would benefit the most vulnerable.
“This type of measure means a multimillionaire will get exactly the same level of protection as everybody else,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“I hope at the very least the £400 already given to vulnerable households is kept or expanded,” he added.
Help for firms
Unlike households, businesses are not protected by an energy price cap. Many fixed-rate deals for business expire this October, exposing thousands of firms to the full horror of costs that could rise by four or five times or more. Thousands would go bust or cut their wage bills by firing staff.
Smaller firms are expected to be offered similar help to that of households, although the BBC understands the details of how businesses will be helped may not be ironed out in time to be included in Thursday’s energy announcement.
However, the leader of one business group said “it’s clear they have crossed a mental Rubicon – they know that businesses need help to avoid lasting damage to the economy”.
Including businesses would mean the bill for the government’s energy plan could easily exceed £100bn.
It is understood that bigger companies may be offered bespoke tax breaks to help them through the period of high prices.
Alex Veitch of the British Chambers of Commerce said: “It is encouraging that the government is seriously considering the support it can give to businesses during these very difficult times.
“But it remains to be seen whether these plans will go far enough in offering the help that many firms so desperately need.”
Craig Beaumont from the Federation of Small Businesses said: “This commitment looks very promising, and arguably the best reassurance that small businesses need that some form of help with bills will follow – not just for households.
“The scope and reach of the help is going to be absolutely crucial to save hundreds of thousands of small businesses this winter.”
The fact that this idea has been suggested by the energy firms tells us everything we need to know. It’ll never be in our interests and ultimately it will only benefit them.
Nationalise them.
At the point where they’re being propped up by taxpayer money what the actual fuck is the point of them existing?
(Yes, well done to those pointing out that these energy companies are not the energy producers, who are the ones hiking up the price. What energy companies are, are pointless middle men who take an extra cut of profit, and now want an extra cut of taxpayer money. They have no good reason to actually exist at all).
>These loans would be repaid from bills over the next 10-20 years.
So people who aren’t even born yet could be paying for current usage? I bet it’s added to standing charges too.
Just end this racket and nationalise.
They’ll do literally anything to avoid paying out less dividends and bonuses to themselves.
Ah… Privatise the profit, socialise the losses.
Why do these companies not put any money away for a rainy day. But that’s what people are encouraged to do.
> These loans would be repaid from bills over the next 10 to 20 years.
> Scottish Power has said that freezing all bills at the current price cap of £1,971 for two years would cost nearly £100bn.
>It is understood that bigger companies may be offered bespoke tax breaks to help them through the period of high prices.
What the fuck is the point. Let’s just end the song and dance and bring back the feudal system because no matter what happens the government will always prioritise big business.
It’s madness, they’re paying them with _our_ money and _our_ futures. Imagine running an energy company, making that much profit, seeing the poverty around the country and thinking yep this is fine. Then imagine being in government and being prepared to give 90BN+ Of tax payers money to these scalpers. It’s all just a big scam run by cunts. I’m so done with this country now.
The UK becomes the new #1 miner of crypto, which goes to show where there’s resources to be exploited British interests are there – regardless of which environment is destroyed and what people destined for poverty and famine.
It’ll cost the British taxpayers 100s of millions, but we’ll welcome our poverty like a long-lost friend after all the media has colluded in making it as though we’d all freeze otherwise. Then ~~Thatch~~ Truss will take credit for ‘saving winter’ and what ever minor war her minders are stirring up (“another jaunt to the ME to fund our yachts’ refurbishments, what what?”).
*Energy bosses have insisted for some time that a government-backed superfund from which they could borrow to subsidise bills “is the only game in town”.*
Well there is another game in town – let them go to the wall, then nationalise them at a bargain firesale price.
But that would obviously cost the Tory voting pensioner shareholders their dividends, so it’s lump the lot on the next generation time again.
Or we could nationalise our utilities instead of making profits for overseas companies.
So they can just keep hiking the prices and making massive profits which will just be paid through our taxes. How is this sustainable?
Good ideas by tax payers I sleep
One idea from Billionare corpo hold my taxes
Just 2008 again with a different sector. My code broke earlier maybe some one can give me a bonus?
So buying them back is too expensive, but giving them a wad of cash so that their profits don’t go down is good business?
To be honest at this point I think they’ve had enough of our money. We should just take it back, they should think themselves lucky they’re not facing criminal charges.
This is just one last hurrah for them before people switch to green energy. Milking as much as they can get before everyone catches on and invests in solar for themselves and a bit of independence from the energy conglomerates.
So shit how our taxes are going to do nothing but kind peoples pockets. Why not just nationalise and be done with it
At a time when energy firms are making these massive profits the system effectively throwing more money to them is obscene.
This is ridiculous. More public money thrown at private companies to be proped up.
This is still the wrong philosophy – here is a total acceptance that the energy producers must still get their billions in profits.
The energy sellers, will get these billions of tax payer money only to hand it over to the likes of BP and Shell .
meanwhile the people who run the wind and solar plants are making billions because of the “wholesale price”
So I presume profits will be returned to the state before being distributed as dividends.
If this is going cost us the tax payers so much money for a temporary fix, we may as well just re-nationalise these firms completely.
Have done with the age of privatised companies profiteering when they were meant to provide an affordable service.
so rather than make us pay mega electric bills, or change their practices to bear the costs that are -their problem- 100bn+ of our taxes should bail them out while they enjoy no discomfort whatsoever, still making it our problem for needing basic utilities to live.
Corporate tyranny is showing its teeth and the government is showing its neck (yet again)
Privatisation is only ever going to be a disaster. We need to renationalise and forcibly, not pay through the nose, but give them back what was paid to take over, or the equivalent if adjustment is needed.
I wish we’d stop calling them energy firms.
They’re financial commodity hedging firms. That’s all they actually do.
They don’t generate electricity and they don’t supply it. They don’t even read meters much any more.
Oil and gas companies get massive blood money profits.
The public get a 20 year debt.
The Tory Party protecting immoral gains since time immemorial.
Yep ‘Twas ever thus: Privatise the profit;make the losses public property. We ‘the public’ are eternally doomed to pay twice.
A loan from the state – Not because your poor, going under. Because you need to maintain growth, profit.
Let that sink in. That’s the world you live in. Blame that mad man/dog Pooooootin. His fault we need those profits!!! Cant manage without.
Anyway keep the loans coming, PS – Your paying back the loan.
So I recently got my result from an Ombudsman case against a company I wont name – and they found in my favour on all points despite the company swearing blue in the face I owed them (at last count) nearly £4,000 in miscalculated payments.
They took a few thousand out of my bank account before this because of a DD and only stopped because I noticed all the savings for our refurbishment plans were disappearing and cancelled it. First thought was fraud until I saw it was a legit transaction…
Anyway, the Ombudsman found in our favour and said that there is no way their calculations are correct and they wildly over-charged and should scrap all bills from the beginning of our time with them and recalculate properly with the agreed data set.
I fully expect them to try and put my money back in as account credit and refuse to reimburse it and it turns my stomach with stress
I just keep thinking how if we didnt have a bit of saving (only a few thousand) to do urgent building repairs we would have missed our mortgage payment and gone into negative balance with the bank. The whole thing is a mess and the money they took is ON TOP of the nearly 4k they say we owe, account was nearly empty when I realised and had to top it up to make sure mortgage got paid.
These people are callous and not at all playing fair or deserving any of our tax money. They need to own it and stop paying themselves fat wages – just like the rest of us who are struggling through this.
So they’re going to reduce OUR energy bills by giving companies recording records profits OUR tax money?
So what happens next winter? If the Russia / Ukraine situation is still going on.. another £100bn ?
I haven’t fully looked at the details yet, but I’m assuming this £100bn is for this winter only?
I’m seriously just so punch-drunk by this stage of the entire debacle. I don’t want to seem apathetic, but I just can’t keep being so angry
Presumably the loan will be paid back over 20 years at flat rate added to each bill. So the person who had their bills reduced by £200,000 pays back the same amount as the pauper who saved just 20p on their one LED bulb.
Nationalised: Treasury invests. Profits returned to Treasury.
Privatised: Treasury invests. Share owners keep it.
So we’re concerned about billionaires’ multi billion pound profits, but it’s cool that the average person can’t afford to live? Awesome
Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest of us.
35 comments
Help for consumers’ energy costs is to be provided by allowing energy suppliers to take out government-backed loans in order to subsidise bills.
The plan, which had been suggested by the energy industry, is set to be announced on Thursday.
The “deficit reduction scheme” is expected to form the centre piece of the government’s attempt to tackle the high cost of energy for consumers.
Small business are also expected to be offered some relief.
Incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss used her victory speech on Monday to pledge to “deliver on the energy crisis” – with a price freeze widely expected.
Energy bills are rocketing and the cap on prices will go up on 1 October, meaning a typical British household is set to pay £3,549 a year on gas and electricity.
Energy bosses have insisted for some time that a government-backed superfund from which they could borrow to subsidise bills “is the only game in town”.
Under such a plan, the government would guarantee loans to energy companies that would be used to freeze or at least lower bills this winter and beyond. These loans would be repaid from bills over the next 10-20 years.
Scottish Power has said that freezing all bills at the current price cap of £1,971 for two years would cost nearly £100bn.
However, Dermot Nolan, former chief executive of energy regulator Ofgem, warned that this estimate could be “conservative”, and also questioned how much it would benefit the most vulnerable.
“This type of measure means a multimillionaire will get exactly the same level of protection as everybody else,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“I hope at the very least the £400 already given to vulnerable households is kept or expanded,” he added.
Help for firms
Unlike households, businesses are not protected by an energy price cap. Many fixed-rate deals for business expire this October, exposing thousands of firms to the full horror of costs that could rise by four or five times or more. Thousands would go bust or cut their wage bills by firing staff.
Smaller firms are expected to be offered similar help to that of households, although the BBC understands the details of how businesses will be helped may not be ironed out in time to be included in Thursday’s energy announcement.
However, the leader of one business group said “it’s clear they have crossed a mental Rubicon – they know that businesses need help to avoid lasting damage to the economy”.
Including businesses would mean the bill for the government’s energy plan could easily exceed £100bn.
It is understood that bigger companies may be offered bespoke tax breaks to help them through the period of high prices.
Alex Veitch of the British Chambers of Commerce said: “It is encouraging that the government is seriously considering the support it can give to businesses during these very difficult times.
“But it remains to be seen whether these plans will go far enough in offering the help that many firms so desperately need.”
Craig Beaumont from the Federation of Small Businesses said: “This commitment looks very promising, and arguably the best reassurance that small businesses need that some form of help with bills will follow – not just for households.
“The scope and reach of the help is going to be absolutely crucial to save hundreds of thousands of small businesses this winter.”
The fact that this idea has been suggested by the energy firms tells us everything we need to know. It’ll never be in our interests and ultimately it will only benefit them.
Nationalise them.
At the point where they’re being propped up by taxpayer money what the actual fuck is the point of them existing?
(Yes, well done to those pointing out that these energy companies are not the energy producers, who are the ones hiking up the price. What energy companies are, are pointless middle men who take an extra cut of profit, and now want an extra cut of taxpayer money. They have no good reason to actually exist at all).
>These loans would be repaid from bills over the next 10-20 years.
So people who aren’t even born yet could be paying for current usage? I bet it’s added to standing charges too.
Just end this racket and nationalise.
They’ll do literally anything to avoid paying out less dividends and bonuses to themselves.
Ah… Privatise the profit, socialise the losses.
Why do these companies not put any money away for a rainy day. But that’s what people are encouraged to do.
> These loans would be repaid from bills over the next 10 to 20 years.
> Scottish Power has said that freezing all bills at the current price cap of £1,971 for two years would cost nearly £100bn.
So it will cost us £100bn and we’re going to let the energy producers get away with making [£170bn windfall profits](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-30/uk-predicts-up-to-170-billion-excess-profits-for-energy-firms). They could pay for it and still have a £70bn windfall.
Fucking Tories.
>It is understood that bigger companies may be offered bespoke tax breaks to help them through the period of high prices.
What the fuck is the point. Let’s just end the song and dance and bring back the feudal system because no matter what happens the government will always prioritise big business.
It’s madness, they’re paying them with _our_ money and _our_ futures. Imagine running an energy company, making that much profit, seeing the poverty around the country and thinking yep this is fine. Then imagine being in government and being prepared to give 90BN+ Of tax payers money to these scalpers. It’s all just a big scam run by cunts. I’m so done with this country now.
The UK becomes the new #1 miner of crypto, which goes to show where there’s resources to be exploited British interests are there – regardless of which environment is destroyed and what people destined for poverty and famine.
It’ll cost the British taxpayers 100s of millions, but we’ll welcome our poverty like a long-lost friend after all the media has colluded in making it as though we’d all freeze otherwise. Then ~~Thatch~~ Truss will take credit for ‘saving winter’ and what ever minor war her minders are stirring up (“another jaunt to the ME to fund our yachts’ refurbishments, what what?”).
*Energy bosses have insisted for some time that a government-backed superfund from which they could borrow to subsidise bills “is the only game in town”.*
Well there is another game in town – let them go to the wall, then nationalise them at a bargain firesale price.
But that would obviously cost the Tory voting pensioner shareholders their dividends, so it’s lump the lot on the next generation time again.
Or we could nationalise our utilities instead of making profits for overseas companies.
So they can just keep hiking the prices and making massive profits which will just be paid through our taxes. How is this sustainable?
Good ideas by tax payers I sleep
One idea from Billionare corpo hold my taxes
Just 2008 again with a different sector. My code broke earlier maybe some one can give me a bonus?
So buying them back is too expensive, but giving them a wad of cash so that their profits don’t go down is good business?
To be honest at this point I think they’ve had enough of our money. We should just take it back, they should think themselves lucky they’re not facing criminal charges.
This is just one last hurrah for them before people switch to green energy. Milking as much as they can get before everyone catches on and invests in solar for themselves and a bit of independence from the energy conglomerates.
So shit how our taxes are going to do nothing but kind peoples pockets. Why not just nationalise and be done with it
At a time when energy firms are making these massive profits the system effectively throwing more money to them is obscene.
This is ridiculous. More public money thrown at private companies to be proped up.
This is still the wrong philosophy – here is a total acceptance that the energy producers must still get their billions in profits.
The energy sellers, will get these billions of tax payer money only to hand it over to the likes of BP and Shell .
meanwhile the people who run the wind and solar plants are making billions because of the “wholesale price”
So I presume profits will be returned to the state before being distributed as dividends.
If this is going cost us the tax payers so much money for a temporary fix, we may as well just re-nationalise these firms completely.
Have done with the age of privatised companies profiteering when they were meant to provide an affordable service.
so rather than make us pay mega electric bills, or change their practices to bear the costs that are -their problem- 100bn+ of our taxes should bail them out while they enjoy no discomfort whatsoever, still making it our problem for needing basic utilities to live.
Corporate tyranny is showing its teeth and the government is showing its neck (yet again)
Privatisation is only ever going to be a disaster. We need to renationalise and forcibly, not pay through the nose, but give them back what was paid to take over, or the equivalent if adjustment is needed.
I wish we’d stop calling them energy firms.
They’re financial commodity hedging firms. That’s all they actually do.
They don’t generate electricity and they don’t supply it. They don’t even read meters much any more.
Oil and gas companies get massive blood money profits.
The public get a 20 year debt.
The Tory Party protecting immoral gains since time immemorial.
Yep ‘Twas ever thus: Privatise the profit;make the losses public property. We ‘the public’ are eternally doomed to pay twice.
A loan from the state – Not because your poor, going under. Because you need to maintain growth, profit.
Let that sink in. That’s the world you live in. Blame that mad man/dog Pooooootin. His fault we need those profits!!! Cant manage without.
Anyway keep the loans coming, PS – Your paying back the loan.
So I recently got my result from an Ombudsman case against a company I wont name – and they found in my favour on all points despite the company swearing blue in the face I owed them (at last count) nearly £4,000 in miscalculated payments.
They took a few thousand out of my bank account before this because of a DD and only stopped because I noticed all the savings for our refurbishment plans were disappearing and cancelled it. First thought was fraud until I saw it was a legit transaction…
Anyway, the Ombudsman found in our favour and said that there is no way their calculations are correct and they wildly over-charged and should scrap all bills from the beginning of our time with them and recalculate properly with the agreed data set.
I fully expect them to try and put my money back in as account credit and refuse to reimburse it and it turns my stomach with stress
I just keep thinking how if we didnt have a bit of saving (only a few thousand) to do urgent building repairs we would have missed our mortgage payment and gone into negative balance with the bank. The whole thing is a mess and the money they took is ON TOP of the nearly 4k they say we owe, account was nearly empty when I realised and had to top it up to make sure mortgage got paid.
These people are callous and not at all playing fair or deserving any of our tax money. They need to own it and stop paying themselves fat wages – just like the rest of us who are struggling through this.
So they’re going to reduce OUR energy bills by giving companies recording records profits OUR tax money?
So what happens next winter? If the Russia / Ukraine situation is still going on.. another £100bn ?
I haven’t fully looked at the details yet, but I’m assuming this £100bn is for this winter only?
I’m seriously just so punch-drunk by this stage of the entire debacle. I don’t want to seem apathetic, but I just can’t keep being so angry
Presumably the loan will be paid back over 20 years at flat rate added to each bill. So the person who had their bills reduced by £200,000 pays back the same amount as the pauper who saved just 20p on their one LED bulb.
Nationalised: Treasury invests. Profits returned to Treasury.
Privatised: Treasury invests. Share owners keep it.
So we’re concerned about billionaires’ multi billion pound profits, but it’s cool that the average person can’t afford to live? Awesome
Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest of us.