Business leaders have today criticised the UK Government after being left in the dark over the extent of support they will receive to pay sky-high energy bills.
Details of a support package announced by Prime Minister Liz Truss last week have still not been published - and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is not expected to set out full details of the Government's spending plans until September 22.
Energy industry insiders warned earlier this week that details were needed within days for businesses to benefit from support this winter.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, has now called for clarity "as soon as possible in order to give hospitality businesses the best chance of survival".
The Telegraph says there is confusion over whether the help for firms - announced last Thursday - can be introduced without legislation, which could delay its rollout, and there are also question marks over the level at which prices will be capped.
The Government has also not yet decided which companies will receive help with their energy bills after an initial six-month period of promised support.
Business groups expressed concern that MPs will be unable to properly debate the terms of the multi-billion-pound energy package - the biggest intervention since World War II.
Parliament to be recalled
Downing Street made clear that Parliament will be recalled before the end of the month, amid concerns MPs would not be able to debate the energy package at all as a result of the mourning period following the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The Prime Minister last week set out plans to freeze energy bills at £2,500 for the average home, and she promised "equivalent support" for firms.
It is thought that the total price tag could exceed £150billion and might even run as high as £200billion - almost three times what was spent on the pandemic furlough scheme.
Energy producers are currently in talks with the Business Department to agree to cheaper longer-term contracts to sell electricity, via contracts for difference (CFD) in an effort to guarantee lower costs to consumers for the years ahead.
Chris O'Shea, chief executive of British Gas' parent company Centrica, said that "extraordinary circumstances call for us all to think differently".
"The Government support package is bold, but we need to address the root cause of high prices as well as the symptoms," he said. "I believe using CFD contracts for existing gas and electricity producers is the solution as it means in times of heightened global prices, the excess profit above a certain price automatically flows back to reduce consumer bills.
"We are prepared to offer our electricity production and our North Sea and Irish Sea gas production into this mechanism to help reduce energy bills for consumers and we hope others will follow."
Negotiations
Other major producers are also involved in the negotiations, including French power giant EDF.
Meanwhile, a National Grid scheme to avoid blackouts this winter by paying households to use less electricity at peak times is said to be in danger of failing because the proposed payments are too low.
The company is trying to urgently establish a system whereby millions of consumers with smart meters could be rewarded for avoiding using energy-hungry appliances when electricity supplies are scarce.
The initiative is one of the measures being put in place ahead of the winter as fears grow that the energy crisis triggered by Russia curtailing gas supplies to Europe could result in power shortages.
However, Octopus Energy and E.ON, two of Britain's biggest energy suppliers, have warned National Grid that the scheme could fail on existing plans because the proposed payments are too low for consumers to sign up.