Fears that energy bills will rise again in the coming weeks on the back of soaring oil prices, will add urgency to a meeting today between energy companies and ministers to discuss the problem of fuel poverty.

Malcolm Wicks, the Energy Minister, and Hillary Benn, the Environment Minister, will meet with the chief executives of the six biggest energy companies at a summit hosted by Ofgem, the energy regulator, against a backdrop of steeply rising global energy prices, which are feeding into higher wholesale gas and electricity prices.

Politicians and campaigners want the energy companies to do more to alleviate the difficulties that many pensioners and vulnerable groups are finding themselves in, as the average household energy bill exceeds £1,000 a year.

Fuel poverty is defined as spending a tenth of more of income on energy.

Oil prices steadied at just under $118 a barrel this morning. Price records in New York and London have been broken almost daily over the past week over concerns about long-term shortages of supply and the weakening dollar.

Brent North Sea crude for June delivery rose 15 cents to $116.10 a barrel, after settling at an all-time high of $115.95 on Tuesday in London.

Fuel poverty campaigners want to highlight the plight of pensioners and other vulnerable groups who are struggling to pay their energy bills.

A coalition of charities and campaign groups claimed yesterday that the average annual fuel bill for somebody aged 65 to 74 had risen to £1,010.

That is 15 per cent of the average income of a single pensioner of that age, and 10 per cent of the income of a couple in the same age bracket.

The charities also said that lone-parent families on basic state benefits faced a fuel bill taking up 11 per cent of their income.

"The action taken so far is nowhere near enough to help those pushed into fuel poverty this year, let alone in the future," Gordon Lishman, director-general of Age Concern, said.

"The government's fuel poverty strategy is in disarray; ministers must pledge fresh action at the summit."

Almost one in five households, or 4.5 million people, is thought to be affected by fuel poverty despite a Labour Party election manifesto pledge to eradicate the problem.

Campaigners say that if suppliers increase bills by a further 25 per cent this year, a million more people will be pushed into fuel poverty.

The fuel poverty summit follows a deal between energy companies and the Government that will see companies pay an additional £225 million over three years to help people who are struggling with rising power bills.

The extra payment was negotiated after the Chancellor threatened energy groups with a windfall tax on their profits.

However, Energywatch, the consumer group, was critical of the deal, which will help only 100,000 customers and do nothing to address the fact that many of the poorest customers are paying the most expensive pre-payment tariffs for their fuel.

Energywatch said: “The Government is letting the industry off lightly.”

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