The enormous cost of freezing electric and gas costs for British households and also helping hard-pressed businesses with their energy bills is beginning to become apparent.
It was reported last night 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.
New Prime Minister Liz Truss declared yesterday that Britain could "ride out the storm" of the cost-of-living crisis as she prepared to freeze annual energy bills for households at around £2,500.
She used her first speech in her new role to reassure the country that financial help was coming.
Ms Truss is to unveil a package of measures to help with spiralling energy costs as early as tomorrow.
Household energy bills are set to be frozen this winter and next - a move which could cost up to £160billion - and businesses are also expected to receive £40billion of support, although details are still being finalised.
The vast intervention will be funded with borrowing. The final cost to the taxpayer is uncertain at this time and will depend on the changing cost of energy.
New Cabinet
Ms Truss spent her first hours after entering Number 10 appointing her Cabinet.
Therese Coffey, one of her closest friends in politics, was named as Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary.
Kwasi Kwarteng was appointed Chancellor, James Cleverly became Foreign Secretary and Suella Braverman, who ran for the Tory leadership, was made Home Secretary.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has been named Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and will be responsible for the UK's response to the unprecedented energy crisis. He is on record as describing the country's net-zero by 2050 target as a "long way off" and a "huge regulatory cost", while supporting policies for fracking and maximising oil and gas recovery from the North Sea.
Activist group Greenpeace described him as "the last person who should be in charge of the energy crisis".
Ms Truss will hold her first Cabinet meeting today before facing Sir Keir Starmer in her first Prime Minister's Questions.
The package of support she is to announce to protect homes and businesses is going to be massive.
Help for all households
All 28million households are expected to be covered until 2024.
The Telegraph says annual energy costs for the average household will be frozen at around £2,500, with an exact figure yet to be named. The existing £400 discount for every household will remain, bringing bills down further.
It means average households will pay close to £2,000 a year - the rough figure of the current price cap. It had been due to rise to £3,549 next month.
The Truss team has rejected energy firm proposals for consumers to pay back some of the support through higher prices over the next 10 or 20 years.
The support package for businesses is more complicated and still being worked out. One option is a freeze on energy costs, but implementing that move quickly would be difficult.