UK: Energy Prices to Soar by 80% While Energy Producers Set to Rake in $198B in Profits

Price inflation for natural gas and electricity in the United Kingdom is forecast to soar to an average of around 80% this year.  The worst is yet to come. Average annual energy bills could exceed £4,000 ($4,820) from January, and £5,000 ($6,000) later in the spring, up from about £2,000 ($2,400) currently. As wholesale costs ballooned last year, 31 smaller UK energy companies that traditionally offered competitive price went bust, forcing millions of customers onto the books of bigger suppliers, and to pay higher bills. Prices have soared due to the war in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia and the aftermath of the pandemic. Britain relies heavily on natural gas while 30 energy retailers have gone out of business. Meanwhile, UK gas producers and electricity generators are forecast to make up to £170 billion ($198 billion) in excess profits over the next two years, according to estimates from the Treasury.

Millions of people in the United Kingdom are steeling themselves for colossal rises to their energy bills over the next few months, a coda to a year already marked by record price increases.

The crisis is not unique to the country. Prices have shot up across Europe since last fall, driven by a spike in demand as countries lifted pandemic lockdowns. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, and the subsequent drop in Moscow’s oil and natural gas exports to Europe, have pushed prices even higher.
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But UK energy prices are now higher than in comparable economies like France and Italy, analysts told CNN Business. And Brits have suffered much bigger price increases than in most European countries, including Germany, where decades of energy policy has been turned on its head by the Ukraine war.
The Office for National Statistics said this week that UK natural gas prices rose nearly 96% in the year to July,while electricity prices are up 54%.
Annual consumer price inflation for gas and electricity in the United Kingdom is forecast to soar to an average of around 80% this year, compared to an average of 40% across the 19 countries that use the euro, analysis from Deutsche Bank shows.
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The worst is yet to come. Average annual energy bills could exceed £4,000 ($4,820) from January, and £5,000 ($6,000) later in the spring, up from about £2,000 ($2,400) currently. Millions could be forced into poverty as a consequence. Leaders of the UK National Health Service warned Friday of a “humanitarian crisis.” Many people could fall sick this winter as they “face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in in cold, damp and very unpleasant conditions,” they said.

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