ENERGY AID 'TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE'

Moves to help people cope with soaring fuel bills were dismissed as inadequate and failed to end demands for a windfall tax on energy firms' massive profits.

The Prime Minister's pledge that the companies would stump up £910 million towards the package - without adding it to customers' bills - was also undermined by doubts from the Association of Electricity Producers.

An industry spokesman warned that "the bill to some extent always ends up with the customer", while ministers admitted they were powerless to stop companies passing the cost.

David Porter, Chief Executive of the Association of Electricity Producers said: "They will try to contain this because they have to, but it remains to be seen just how much of it ends up on the customers' bill in the longer run.

"Whenever people impose costs on an industry like ours the bill to some extent always ends up with the customer. But the large energy companies have made it clear that they will not want to pass on these costs to customers."

As part of a package that has been heavily-trailed by Downing Street, six million low income and pensioner households are to get free loft and cavity insulation. Another five million homes will get half-price energy-saving measures.

Mr Brown said there would also be action to ensure that households on pre-payment meters do not face higher tariffs, he said, while 600,000 low-income households will have lower social tariffs by the end of the year. In the event of "severe" weather this winter, cold weather payments will increase from £8.50 to £25 a week.

But Gas and electricity watchdog Energywatch criticised the Government's response to the growing fuel poverty crisis as being "too little, too late".

Chief executive Allan Asher said: "The lack of political will to tackle fuel poverty is not just disappointing, it approaches negligence. While Government has now woken up to the scale of the challenge and is becoming alert to the need for some action, the sense of urgency is lacking."