Government's fuel chief says prices may mean choosing 'heating or eating'
Updated on 21 August 2008
Many families this winter face a hike in fuel bills that will mean a choice between "heating and eating", according to Derek Lickorish.
But Lickorish is not from a pressure group but rather the new chairman of the government's own fuel poverty advisory group.
The warning comes as two more energy companies, E.ON and Scottish and Southern, announce big increases in their prices.
E.ON will put up gas bills by 26 per cent, while Scottish and Southern Energy customers will pay 29 per cent more.
Speaking exclusively to Channel 4 News, Lickorish said he thinks a fifth of all British households will be in fuel poverty, or spending more than 10 per cent of their income on fuel bills.
But he also believes there is a way to raise up to a billion pounds from energy companies to lower bills this winter.
