The government has reached a deal with American firm CF Industries to restart carbon dioxide production at its UK plants in Cheshire and Teesside.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng met with the company over the weekend, after it had stopped work at its plants following a spike in global gas prices.
The halt in production has led to a food production crisis, as CO2 is used widely in food processing, from packaging meat and other foodstuffs to providing the carbonation in beer and other fizzy drinks.
It comes as the government’s cap on energy prices looks set to rise by a further £178 per year from April 2022 as gas prices soar, according to modelling from researchers at a market intelligence agency.
Cornwall Insight’s researchers expect the price cap will be raised to £1,455 for the six months from the beginning of April next year.
This would be a 14 per cent rise from the already record-breaking £1,277 that customers will pay between October and April, and up £317 from current levels.
Meanwhile, Ofgem has ordered five energy suppliers to pay the money they owe into a government renewable energy scheme.
The Feed In Tariff was due last Friday, and Colorado Energy, Igloo Energy, Neon Reef Energy, Whoop Energy and Symbio Energy all risk facing fines or losing their licence if they fail to make their payments.
