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Jumat, 01 Oktober 2021

Fuel supply crisis: Army tankers to deliver to petrol stations from Monday - Sky News

Army tanker drivers are to start delivering fuel to petrol stations from Monday in an emergency government move prompted by the continuing crisis at the pumps.

Senior ministers have been alarmed at how slowly the fuel supply disruption is improving, with motorists still forced to queue for hours for fuel after more than a week of forecourt chaos.

Almost 200 soldiers - including 100 drivers - have been training with haulage firms this week, learning how to fill up tankers and petrol pumps, and the first army deliveries will be made early on Monday morning.

Announcing the move, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "Across the weekend over 200 military personnel will have been mobilised as part of Operation Escalin.

"While the situation is stabilising, our armed forces are there to fill in any critical vacancies and help keep the country on the move by supporting the industry to deliver fuel to forecourts."

At the same time, Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay, who is in charge of the government's response to the fuel crisis, appealed to motorists to stop panic buying at the pumps

"The government has taken decisive action to tackle the short-term disruption to our supply chains, and in particular the flow of fuel to forecourts," he said.

"We are now seeing the impact of these interventions with more fuel being delivered to forecourts than sold and, if people continue to revert to their normal buying patterns, we will see smaller queues and prevent petrol stations closing."

And despite no end to the long queues at garages in some parts of the UK, particularly southeast England and London, senior ministers still insist the demand for fuel has stabilised.

"Thanks to the immense efforts of industry over the past week, we are seeing continued signs that the situation at the pumps is slowly improving," Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng claimed.

"UK forecourt stock levels are trending up, deliveries of fuel to forecourts are above normal levels, and fuel demand is stabilising.

"It's important to stress there is no national shortage of fuel in the UK, and people should continue to buy fuel as normal. The sooner we return to our normal buying habits, the sooner we can return to normal."

But the decision to send in the army came as Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, issued a gloomy warning that shortages of goods could last until Christmas.

"These shortages are very real," Mr Sunak said in a Daily Mail interview. "We're seeing real disruption in supply chains in different sectors, not just here but around the world."

And admitting that families face a "challenging" winter, the chancellor added: "We're determined to do what we can to try to mitigate as much of this as we can."

The government's announcement on sending in the army to tackle the fuel crisis came just hours after it was demanded by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

It also followed a warning by the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent garages, that more than a quarter of its filling stations have no fuel.

Calling on Boris Johnson to "take emergency action to get a grip", Sir Keir also called for extended opening hours for petrol stations to help NHS shift workers and other key workers.

And he urged the prime minister to recall parliament and hold an emergency summit of the road haulage industry, training providers, business groups, government ministers and transport unions to focus on the immediate crisis.

The government says it is already taking a range of measures to ease temporary supply chain pressures in food haulage industries, brought on by the pandemic and the global economy rebounding around the world.

In a further step to manage these pressures in the short term, the government is introducing a scheme allowing fuel tanker drivers and food haulage truckers to work in the UK immediately on a temporary basis.

Under these plans:

• 300 fuel drivers will be able to arrive immediately, subject to immigration checks, and stay to work until the end of March 2022

• 4,700 food haulage drivers who will arrive from late October and leave by 28 February 2022

• 5,500 poultry workers who will arrive from late October and be able stay up to 31 December 2021

The government says these temporary, time-limited visa measures, do not detract from a commitment to upskill and increase the wages of domestic labour, but are in recognition of the extraordinary set of circumstances affecting the stability of the UK supply chain.

Ministers say they want to see employers make long-term investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on overseas labour to build a high-wage, high-skill economy.

In addition to short-term fixes, the government says it is also working with industry to find long-term solutions to the shortage of HGV drivers through improved testing and hiring, with better pay, working conditions and diversity.

To help with recruitment, the government also says it is collaborating with freight associations to drive up standards of lorry parking facilities, helping to make the HGV industry more attractive for prospective drivers and supporting the wellbeing of those currently working as lorry drivers.

Other moves include an immediate increase in HGV testing and new skills boot camps to train up to 4,000 more people to become HGV drivers.

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2021-10-01 21:02:44Z
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Energy price cap: Millions of households face higher gas and electricity bills - BBC News

A squeeze on household finances will become more acute as a new, higher energy price cap takes effect.

Those on standard tariffs, with typical household levels of energy use, will see bills go up by £139 to £1,277 a year, but the more energy a household uses, the higher their bill will be.

Prepayment meter customers with average energy use will see a £153 increase.

The cap has come under the spotlight owing to the crisis among suppliers, which has seen nine firms fold.

The cap limits how much providers can raise prices. Even so, the current increase is the biggest jump, to the highest amount, seen since the backstop was introduced in January 2019.

It represents a 12% rise in energy prices at a time of the year when, charities point out, people are about to use more heating and lighting during colder, darker days. It also coincides with other price rises hitting family budgets and the withdrawal of Covid support schemes, although the government has promised to continue financial help for the poorest households.

About 15 million households in England, Wales and Scotland are affected by the changes.

The cap does not apply in Northern Ireland where prices are overseen by a regulator.

How the cap works

The regulator Ofgem sets a price cap for domestic energy twice a year. The latest level kicked in on 1 October.

It is a cap on the price of energy and charges that suppliers can levy. A household's total bill is still determined by how much gas and electricity is used.

The latest change means:

Those on standard tariffs, with typical household levels of energy use, will see an increase of £139 - from £1,138 to £1,277 a year - to their bill
People with prepayment meters, with average energy use, will see an annual increase of £153 - from £1,156 to £1,309
Households with larger than average energy use will have a higher annual bill

Households on fixed tariffs will be unaffected, but those coming to the end of a contract are automatically moved to a default tariff set at the new level. In the past customers have been able to shop around for cheaper deals, but currently, they won't find anything cheaper, due to the high price of gas.

Adam Scorer, from fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, said: "The massive devastating increases in energy prices will drive over 500,000 more households into fuel poverty, leaving them unable to heat or power their homes."

'Where's the extra money coming from?'

Debbie Wright is about to move into her first flat, but said rising energy bills, as well as lower benefits payments, were detracting from the excitement of her potential independence.

"It's scary - you can't afford to live day by day," she said.

"Where is the extra money coming from?"

She was taking part in a life skills class run by charity Christians Against Poverty. All of those in the class used prepayment meters and were in receipt of food parcels.

"We are seeing all sorts of people in debt," said life skills manager Shirley Bowen.

"There have always been people that struggle to manage their finances and I don't think that will ever change. As soon as there is any expense that they don't expect, it knocks them off and they have to cry out for help.

"It is just going to spiral. It is obvious that there will be people who do not put the heating on this winter. Whether or not they will be able to cook for their kids, it will just be sandwiches and cereal, we will have to just wait and see."

How to save money

Usually, the introduction of more expensive energy bills is accompanied with advice to consumers on standard tariffs to switch to a cheaper deal.

The current crisis in the sector means that, this time, there is no availability of better offers. A tariff set at the price cap limit is the most competitive available.

Instead, residents are being encouraged to save money by looking at the energy efficiency of their homes. The Energy Saving Trust said that the price rise could be more than outstripped by changes to our homes and habits.

How to save money on your energy bills graphic

Mr Scorer, from National Energy Action, said: "We can't lose sight of the long-term solution to reduce the energy waste in our homes. We have some of the least efficient housing in Europe.

"This has left the UK more exposed to the current soaring gas price than many other countries and we are wasting billions of pounds each year as heat escapes through leaky roofs, floors and ceilings."

Price cap is tough for suppliers

The new cap was decided in August and is designed to reflect the unavoidable costs faced by energy suppliers.

This came slightly ahead of a massive jump in wholesale gas prices which has led to the collapse of nine suppliers in recent weeks. They have been unable to keep to the price promises they made to their customers, and were uninsured against the increasing costs.

Avro Energy, for example, confirmed on Friday that it had fallen into administration. Its customers will be transferred to Octopus Energy, while its 103 staff will be kept on "in the short-term" to help with the change.

Bust energy companies and customers affected chart

The tariffs that will be charged for the 1.7 million customers moving to new suppliers after their previous provider collapsed are being set at the same level as the new price cap.

Senior executives of bigger suppliers have argued that the price cap is making the situation worse. They say they are shouldering billions of pounds in additional costs by providing customers with energy that costs more to buy than they are allowed to sell it for under the retail price cap.

Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, told the BBC's Today programme: "It costs around £600 to take on a new customer at the moment because of the astonishing price of gas in the market and that's the main issue."

She added that more energy suppliers were expected to fail given the current "volatile" gas market.

Firms have criticised Ofgem, claiming that it should have known many smaller suppliers would not be resilient in the face of gas price rises.

Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, rejected the criticism, saying that nobody could have predicted the huge rise in the cost of wholesale gas.

He accepted that the cost of protecting customers from failing energy providers could lead to higher bills in the future.

Ofgem will decide the level of the next price cap - which analysts predict to be considerably higher - in February, before it takes effect at the start of April.

A spokeswoman for the regulator said: "We are doing all we can to make sure consumers, especially people in vulnerable circumstances, do not pay more than is absolutely necessary this winter.

"Higher energy costs are never welcome news to anyone and the timing and size of this increase will be particularly difficult for many families still struggling with the impact of the pandemic. Anyone struggling to pay their energy bills should get in touch with their supplier to access the help that is available."

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