Plans to help two million elderly and vulnerable people cope with the soaring cost of gas and electricity bills have been dismissed as inadequate by consumer groups and charities.

Ministers are planning to introduce new legislation to force energy companies to share data with regulators, so customers can be directed to the best value deals.

A trial scheme is also being proposed to check that 3,000 vulnerable customers are on their suppliers’ cheapest tariff.

The move is part of a fuel poverty action programme unveiled by Ofgem amid growing fears that at least a million more households could fall into fuel poverty this year,as power price increases look inevitable in the coming months.

Sir John Mogg, chairman of Ofgem, said: “The action programme has produced a whole series of practical steps to pinpoint help and to tackle fuel poverty.”

However the plans were immediately attacked by watchdogs who said they went nowhere near far enough to addressing the problems faced by millions of homeowners across the UK.

Adam Scorer, campaigns director at Energywatch, said the action plan was a massive missed opportunity.

"There’s very little in these statements that hasn’t already been said and almost nothing new on the table.

"These announcements are going to have a hollow ring to them for millions of households who need goverment and the regulator to respond to the true scale and consequences of fuel poverty.

He added: “We are at a loss to understand the reluctance of government and the regulator to move more quickly and decisively on social tariffs and on unfair charges to pre-payment meter users.”

Ed Matthews, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, added: "The new fuel poverty measures announced today won't fix the problem - people will still be left out in the cold."

And Kate Jopling, head of public affairs at Help the Aged, described the proposals as "a sticking plaster to hold back a catastrophe".

She said: "While it is welcome news that the Government is moving in the right direction on fuel poverty, this initiative does not go nearly far enough to deal with the looming fuel poverty crisis."

Official figures claim 2.3 million households are in fuel poverty - spending at least 10 per cent of their income on heating their home.

Watchdogs claim the real figure is closer to 4 million.

Energywatch said 14 per cent of gas pre-payment customers have ‘self-disconnected’ over the past year because they cannot afford to top up their meter.

Pre-payment customers, typically those on low incomes, are charged up to £330 a year more for their power by energy suppliers.

The chief executive of one of Britain’s largest power companies yesterday became the latest to warn that further energy price rises are imminent.

Ian Marchant, the chief executive of Scottish & Southern Energy, said that the unpredecented rise in oil prices meant that the outlook for customers did not look good.

Last month companies such as British Gas and E.ON pledge to spend an extra £225 million between them tackling fuel poverty over the next three years.

However, average bills have soared back above £1,000 a year and uSwitch, the internet switching site, fears they could rise to £1,300 by the end of the year.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive