Leaders | Crunch time

How to help with energy bills

There are better, fairer and cheaper ways than meddling with prices

MILFORD HAVEN, WALES - MARCH 30: A general view of the Valero Pembroke Refinery on March 30, 2022 in Milford Haven, United Kingdom. The Valero Pembroke Refinery processes primarily crude oils into diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, heating oil and low-sulfur fuel oil, outputting 270,000 barrels a day. Energy and fuel bills are rising in the UK due to a combination of factors. Russia's war on Ukraine has increased global oil prices which affects increases at the fuel pump but energy bills are going up because the energy price cap - the maximum price suppliers in England, Wales and Scotland can charge households - is being raised from April 1st. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Aug 10th 2022

The energy crisis unleashed by Russia’s war on Ukraine is crushing Europe’s consumers and panicking its politicians. Natural-gas prices are eight times higher than they were last summer and traders expect precious little respite over the coming year. Global oil prices are nearly twice their level in January 2021. The result is rampant rises in living costs. By October a household in Britain could be paying more than £3,500 ($4,200) a year for energy, more than three times last year’s bill, leading the Bank of England to warn of inflation passing 13% before the year is out. Annual consumer-price inflation rates are already in double digits in half of the euro area’s member countries.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “How to help with those bills”