THE SNP have called on the UK Government to act as experts predict energy bills are set to rise as high as £3000 a year.
According to Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbenk, households can “expect bills to be anywhere between £2500 and £3000 in October.”
This follows new research from energy experts Boiler Central, which found that Scotland already has some of the highest electricity bills in the whole of the UK.
The SNP have urged the Tories to introduce measures which will ameliorate the cost of living crisis for ordinary people who are not only faced by skyrocketing energy bills, but rising food costs and council tax.
READ MORE: UK homes without mains gas supply should not have to pay more for energy, says Drew Hendry
SNP MSP Emma Roddick commented: “Thousands of families are already suffering from a spiralling cost of living crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine is about to make things worse as the price of a barrel of oil continues to rocket to unprecedented levels.
“Ultimately, this will impact families on the lowest incomes, but the Tory UK Government has done next to nothing to support them and see them through the crisis.
“We need to see real action from the Tory Chancellor. He should introduce an emergency budget to support families through this crisis before we see thousands plunged deeper into poverty.
“This should deliver a Real Living Wage, reverse the callous £20 cut to Universal Credit and change his energy loan into a grant and to make the scheme more generous than it is planned to be.”
Where in Scotland has the most expensive energy bills?
According to the new Boiler Central research, energy costs in north Scotland already stand at the second highest in the UK, with the average yearly bill for a household totalling £795 a year, and £66 a month.
South Scotland also has some of the UK’s most expensive electric bills, with the average yearly bill totally £763 for a household. Both areas faced a 7.4% hike in electricity prices in 2021 alone, with north Scotland paying £30 more on average than the rest of the UK.
Boiler Central expert Myles Robinson, energy expert at Boiler Central commented: “The explosion of electricity costs across Scotland and the UK as a whole is reaching a crisis point. With bills predicted to skyrocket a further £600 in the spring, it is becoming more and more impossible for families to meet these costs.
“Unless the UK comes up with solutions on a larger scale to reduce the cost of energy, we are likely to see rising bills for some time”.
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