The United Kingdom is planning to provide relief for households and businesses as rising European energy prices are set to surge further into the continent's ongoing crisis.
New British prime minister Liz Truss, who took over the reins from Boris Johnson on Tuesday, is expected to cap household energy bills at around 2,500 $2,887, according to the BBC.
The U.K. energy regulator Ofgem said average bills would rise from 1,971 $2,276 to 3,549 $4,098 over the next month or so and could climb again in January.
The plan to help consumers is estimated to cost US taxpayers approximately 100 billion $116 billion via government backed loans to suppliers, with full details to be revealed on Thursday.
A scheme to help businesses will follow, but those details are still being worked out, one source told Reuters.
Europe has been dealing with soaring energy prices ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, after Western sanctions against the Kremlin curbed global supply. Several countries that were heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas ahead of the invasion have been trying to wean themselves off Russian energy by looking for other suppliers and alternative energy sources.
Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom shut down Nord Stream 1, a key gas pipeline to the continent, and caused the crisis to escalate.
Benchmark European gas prices have soared roughly 340% in the past year and went up 35% on Monday after Gazprom announced that the pipeline would be down indefinitely.