Liz Truss set to announce £130bn energy bill bailout

theguardian.com:

Liz Truss will finally present her long-awaited plans to tackle soaring energy bills on Thursday, with some Tory MPs conceding this is already a make or break moment for her entire premiership.

The new prime minister is expected to announce to MPs that bills will be frozen at about £2,500 a year until 2024 as part of a package of support costing up to £130bn, funded by the taxpayer, as she tries to address the most significant economic crisis in a generation.

Senior Tories predicted the bailout would generate enough goodwill to guarantee her survival in No 10 until at least Christmas, but warned she had a big challenge keeping her deeply divided party in line beyond the new year.

In one move that will cheer some Tory backbenchers, it is understood that Truss will announce an immediate end on a pause on fracking for shale gas, with new drilling potentially beginning within weeks as part of her hydrocarbon-based push for greater energy security.

The practice is hugely controversial – the moratorium was imposed in 2019 because of earthquakes the practice can trigger – and Truss has previously said fracking would only happen in areas where there was local support. It is not known if this would be changed.

With the pound falling to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 and the country set to plunge into recession, charities and thinktanks warned that government plans to cap energy bills are “poorly targeted” and will fail to protect low-income families without a package of additional support.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies was among those saying ministers should adopt a scheme that did not benefit wealthier households.

Ahead of her Commons statement, Truss said: “I know families and businesses across the country are