"I'm not putting the heating on" - Sheffield residents fear huge gas bills as energy crisis looms

Rising wholesale gas costs are forcing smaller suppliers out of business and Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, held an emergency summit with gas industry chiefs on Monday morning in an effort to contain the fallout.

Sheffield residents told the Telegraph they are already facing steep bills.

Broomhill shopper Mark Dungworth, who moved to Richmond in June, said: “I received my first gas bill and I was quite shocked at how high it was. It was the biggest I have had in years.

"I’m waiting for my next one - what is it going to be like in winter?”

A local couple, who wanted to be known as Mr and Mrs Waller, said: “We will be affected, it affects huge groups of people.

"We’re both pensioners. If gas goes up we will be losing money.

"The government should have taken action more quickly, they should have anticipated it."

And another Broomhill resident said: “I am concerned about it, it was already overpriced anyway. I’ve not got my heating on at the moment and I’m not going to put it on. The government need to get it back down.

"For a lot of people, you either get heating or food, even for pensioners.”

Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh has criticised the government for failures concerning increased gas prices.

She said: “The Government have once again failed to plan for the long-term and now find themselves in the situation where they are exposed and expecting families and businesses to pay the price.

“If they fail to contain this fallout then the wider consequences could be devastating for families, businesses, supermarkets and the NHS.

"The chair of the NHS Confederation has warned that the lack of carbon dioxide from the crisis could lead to operations being cancelled adding to the enormous backlog that already exists due to Covid.

“I’m calling on the government to do all they can to resolve this issue urgently before even more strain is added to families and businesses.”