disney now has more subscribers than netflix. but higher prices are on the way. we start here in the uk where energy company bosses are due to meet government ministers in the next few hours as calls grow for more action to tackle soaring energy bills. pressure is mounting on the two candidates who hope to become the next prime minister liz truss and rishi sunak, to set out how they would tackle the crisis amid warnings millions could be forced into poverty without more government support. on wednesday, a survey revealed six million uk households are already in debt to their energy suppliers even before billsjump again this winter. in october 2021, the average energy bill in the uk was £1,200 a year. but the war in ukraine has set wholesale gas and electricity prices soaring. average annual bills are currently close to £2000 pounds. now some experts are warning they could jump to more than £3500 pounds in the autumn and more than £4200 pounds in january. our consumer
fewer claims this month. firms say postal strikes may have delayed some voucher deliveries, and the government says energy suppliers have promised to improve processess. joining me now from hull isjessica heath. she and her flatmate she and herflatmate haven t received their prepayment energy support vouchers yet. jessica, why not? ~ , ., , , , support vouchers yet. jessica, why not? ,, not? well, your guess is as good as mine. i not? well, your guess is as good as mine- i would not? well, your guess is as good as mine. i would probably not? well, your guess is as good as mine. i would probably suggest - mine. i would probably suggest incompetence, i have had a whole range of different excuse, i think the postal strikes has been the go to they have used to try and explain why we haven t received them in the post, but, i m not buying that because it is three months worth we haven t received so i think it is probably more just the fact that the energy companies haven t got the right s
there is some limited merit in that, but, you need to be careful here because the more you tax them less likely they are to invest for the future and this is a lot is about, the fact that energy companies haven t actually been investing in upstream oil and gas investment for about five years because of the week prices that we had in the mid 2010 s. and if you tax them now they are more likely to defer their investments and causing an extended period of problems. let s stay with the cost of living because uk hospitality firms are struggling more now than they were during the pandemic. that s according to sacha lord, the mayor of greater manchester s adviser on the night time economy. just as they were recovering from lockdown bars, restaurants and entertainment
hours or. so we have this terrible news about a russian occupation of europe s largest nuclear power plant, the fire is put out but the atomic energy agency has been looking at the events and it rattled markets, including asian markets sharply lower in the red and we inherited that here in europe, lots of red across the board. and down by 3% in london, paris, france, germany, and that is probably going to affect things stateside as well, when you guys open up. now oil has been about $120 a barrel in the session and has retreated slightly back from that but that will have an effect on the energy company, but even energy companies haven t been a safe sector and really isn t much they see out there apart from when you look at the safety of the u.s. dollar. good point about the scrutiny on the energy industry because of the supply of russia and now the plant last night.