Another million households could be plunged into fuel poverty this year if Britain’s energy suppliers go ahead with further price rises.

Fuel poverty, defined as needing to spend 10 per cent or more of total household income on energy, now affects 4.5 million households – roughly one in five.

A series of fuel price increases this year has increased that figure by 500,000, despite a Labour Party promise to eradicate the problem altogether by 2016.

But with global energy prices continuing to soar, the campaign group National Energy Action claims that fuel poverty will rise to 5.5 million if energy companies implement a further 25 per cent increase in bills.

The warning came as a meeting on fuel poverty ended yesterday amid wide criticism by campaign groups and the power industry. Both said there had been little agreement on how to address the problem.

Sir John Mogg, chairman of the energy regulator Ofgem, who led the meeting, acknowledged that the era of cheap fuel appeared to be over as the pace of energy price increases had reversed years of falling fuel poverty.

Britain’s energy barons had gathered for the meeting at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, where they were met by Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, Malcolm Wicks, the Energy Minister, and almost 60 representatives from organisations such as Help the Aged and National Energy Action.

But as the round-table talks, which were closed to the press, ended a few hours later, Allan Asher, chief executive of EnergyWatch, said the summit had “just danced around the edge of the problem”.

Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison, the public services union, said: “Those suffering from fuel poverty need warm homes, not more warm words.”

He said the failure to tackle the extra high charges levied on prepayment customers was “shocking” and trying to force greater levels of switching suppliers as a response to fuel poverty was “entirely wrongheaded”.Tariffs for prepayment meters, used typically by pensioners and the less well off, are up to 45 per cent higher than for internet customers. The industry watchdog Ofgem has branded the practice a £400 million rip-off.

Among the handful of concrete achievements cited by the organisers Ofgem yesterday was a pledge by energy companies to allow customers using prepayment meters to change energy suppliers using internet switching sites.

Suppliers also made a commitment to provide more information on fuel-efficiency measures and social tariffs, so that vulnerable customers can easily find the cheapest energy supplier in their area. Ofgem also said that it would publish an action programme early next month that would lay out a full list of initiatives that energy companies intend to take to tackle the problem of fuel poverty.

The agreement reached yesterday did not specify any extra funds for the fuel poor. Instead, it is aimed at the better targeting of aid.

Energy companies spend only 0.11 per cent of their £24 billion turnover helping to tackle fuel poverty. There is dissatisfaction that in the past few months they have been raising prices while reporting huge profits. British Gas, for example, recently reported earnings of £571 million.

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

A source close to one power company present at the meeting said: “There is no real agreement about how to handle this problem. It’s intractable and about much more than just giving out handouts.”

Ed Matthew, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, said: “The Government’s failure to keep its pledge to end fuel poverty is a national disgrace. Ministers must take urgent action to end this suffering.”

Friends of the Earth wants to see a significant energy efficiency programme across the country to tackle fuel poverty and climate change.

“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.”

One senior energy industry executive told The Times this week that with crude oil prices continuing to rise, it was all but inevitable that further price rises were on the way.

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