New figures showing the excess profits made by energy giants will leave consumers sick to their stomachs. Analysis by campaign group Global Witness claims the oil and gas “supermajors” – including Shell and BP – raked in £110billion last year.
At the same time, hard-working people from across the UK were seeing their energy bills soar out of all proportion.
Many faced the choice of eating or heating and endured sleepless nights worrying about paying their bills. The UK Government belatedly intervened through the Energy Price Guarantee, which effectively froze prices.
But the policy is time limited to April and bills could soar by 20 per cent when the scheme runs out. Consumer champion Martin Lewis has joined other campaigners in calling for the rise to be at least postponed.
Writing to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, the founder of the finance website MoneySavingExpert said: “Postponing the increase is a practical and fair decision, with household energy bills already double what they were the prior winter.
“Crucially, the damage to people’s pockets and mental health of another round of energy price rise letters is disproportionate.”
Lewis is a trusted figure on personal finance, whose advice is heeded by millions of people in Britain. His call for an extension should be taken very seriously by a Government that appears to many of its critics to be out of touch and uncaring.
With inflation still high and mortgage bills soaring, the last thing people in Scotland need is another energy price hike. The guarantee must go on past April to protect the living standards of people in this country.
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