CEOs of big energy companies are taking notice.
In cities across Britain, people are stepping up protests against the rising cost-of-living and surging household energy bills. Picture: BLOOMBERG
“These numbers are off the charts and out of reach for most people across the country. So when protesters call for a freeze in the price cap, I can see completely where they’re coming from,” Scottish Power CEO Keith Anderson said in a statement published on the company’s website on Sunday. He urged the government to offer support “on the size and scale” of the coronavirus pandemic.
A separate organisation, “Enough is Enough,” plans to kick off a series of 50 rallies across the UK on Wednesday. The left-wing group, backed by Labour MP Zarah Sultana and union bosses such as Mick Lynch, aims to take the financial burden off consumers. Its goals include a real-terms pay rise, reduced energy bills, an end to food poverty, the construction of affordable housing and higher taxes for big earners and corporations.
The “Don’t Pay” initiative was launched during a trades union demonstration in June and took off after power companies, such as Shell and Centrica , which supply gas and power to almost a third of UK households, reported record earnings. Shell has handed out an 8% bonus salary to most staff and plans to give $6bn of cash back to shareholders in the form of a buyback while Centrica, the owner of British Gas, resumed dividends for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
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