British Prime Minister Liz Truss is on Thursday expected to unveil a costly plan to freeze domestic fuel bills to help ease the burden of a soaring cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom.
Truss took over from Boris Johnson on Tuesday. She vowed to hit the ground running, responding to calls for urgent action to help hard-pressed households and businesses.
The plan to be announced on Thursday could cost more than 116 billion euros, surpassing Britain's Covid-era furlough jobs support scheme.
Neither Truss nor her office have confirmed the eye-watering sums. Downing Street on Wednesday night said that the prime minister would announce a "bold plan of action".
"I know families and businesses across the country are worried about how they are going to make ends meet this autumn and winter," Truss said.
"Putin's war in Ukraine and weaponisation of gas supply in Europe is causing global prices to rise -- and this has only made clearer that we must boost our long-term energy security and supply.
"We will take action immediately to help people and businesses with bills but also take decisive action to tackle the root cause of these problems, so that we are not in this position again."
British households are facing an 80 percent jump in domestic electricity and gas prices from October. A further rise in energy prices is predicted from January.
No windfall tax. Fracking, anyone?
Truss is also expected to slash taxes to boost the economy, which the Bank of England forecasts will slump in an inflation-induced recession.
Bloomberg analysts last month quoted Treasury estimates that British gas and electricity producers were on course to make excess profits of up to 200 billion euros in the next two years.
Truss on Wednesday reaffirmed her opposition to windfall taxes on energy giants, although aides said she would not abolish an excess profits levy imposed by former finance minister Rishi Sunak.
Truss also called for more North Sea oil and gas projects while Downing Street hinted that a moratorium on fracking could be lifted to secure more valuable energy.
Fracking was banned in 2019 after causing tremors in northern England. Easing those restrictions could be problematic, as it runs counter to the Tories' 2019 general election manifesto.
British currency the pound slumpied on Wednesday to its lowest dollar level since 1985 -- when Margaret Thatcher was in power.
UK inflation reached a 40-year peak of 10.1 percent in July, with some experts predicting a jump to 18 percent.
