PM Liz Truss to announce energy plan: Borrow £150bn, restart fracking and freeze bills at £2,500
Prime Minister Liz Truss is set to announce bold new proposals to tackle the energy crisis, including borrowing £150bn, freezing energy bills at £2,500 until 2024 and restarting fracking.
The newly-minted PM’s plans come after she dismissed suggestions of a windfall tax on energy producers to pay for the borrowing, as questions are asked about how she will pay for it.
Yesterday the Bank of England’s chief economist said her plan to freeze energy bills would peg back inflation. This comes after the energy price cap was raised by about 80 per cent, plunging millions into fuel poverty.
Truss’ plans will be unveiled later today, and include increasing the oil and gas supply in the UK, with the restarting of fracking.
Criticism was already coming in from Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s shadow climate change and net zero secretary, and former leader.
Miliband branded ruling out a windfall tax as having “written a blank cheque to the oil and gas giants making £170 billion in excess profits”, adding that instead, “the British people will foot the bill.”
“Every penny her Government refuses to raise in windfall taxes is money that they will be loading onto the British people for years to come.