Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has suggested that energy companies be nationalised to help tackle the crisis caused by soaring power bills.
She told the BBC that the possibility of nationalisation “should be on the table”, and also warned that a looming disaster was set to get worse if the next household energy price cap rise comes into effect in October.
Her comments come as Scottish Energy Secretary Michael Matheson has called for an extension to the North Sea windfall tax to include some other business sectors.
Ms Sturgeon said Ofgem's next increase, to be announced this Friday, should not be allowed to go ahead.
However, the UK Government said struggling households will receive some support.
Last week, the Scottish Government estimated 36% of homes will be in fuel poverty.
Ms Sturgeon is to convene a summit this week with energy-supply companies on improving advice and support for people struggling with energy bills.
Major energy suppliers at summit
Scotland's major energy suppliers, including ScottishPower, OVO Energy, Centrica, Octopus and E.ON, will attend, as well as industry bodies and anti-poverty groups.
Household energy bills could triple to more than £6,000 a year by the spring, according to industry experts.
Consultancy Auxilione predicts that the price cap on bills will gradually rise by more than £4,000 in the months ahead.
The cap is currently £1,971 for the average household, but is expected to reach £3,576 in October, rising to £4,799 in January, and finally hitting £6,089 in April.
Meanwhile, Scottish Energy Secretary Michael Matheson has backed an extension to the new North Sea windfall tax - and said he would broaden it to a range of other industries.
Speaking to Energy Voice, he said there was "good reason" to revisit the levy - and not just on oil and gas producers, but also on other sectors which have done very well recently.
Mr Matheson's colleague, Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn, has previously mooted a "cross-sector" levy for Amazon and other large retailers, as well as energy companies.
No time to waste on Scottish Cluster
The energy secretary has also said there is no time to waste in giving the green light to the Scottish carbon capture and storage (CCS) cluster.
Mr Matheson last week visited the St Fergus gas plant, home to the Acorn CCS project.
Acorn forms the backbone of the Scottish Cluster - a project to substantially reduce emissions from heavy industry across the country by storing CO2 in depleted North Sea reservoirs.
Energy Voice says the Scottish Cluster missed out on UK Government funding back in October and, despite hope it will be picked during a "track 2" announcement this year, Mr Matheson said it is crucial the scheme can get up and be running immediately.
"I don't think it can be stated enough that the ScottishCcluster is mission-critical to Scotland meeting its net zero target by 2045 and for the rest of the UK reaching its net-zero target by 2050.
"The longer that is that any decision around the Acorn project going ahead is delayed, then the greater risk we cause to meeting those targets and the longer environmental damage continues to be caused as well."