The boss of the UK's third largest energy firm has proposed a plan for the government to subsidise bills, with the poorest getting the most support.
Under the scheme energy firms could borrow from a government-backed fund, using the money to subsidise bills.
Ovo Energy's Stephen Fitzpatrick said action was needed now, or the least well off would go cold and hungry.
The government said it was preparing to deliver any extra support when a new prime minister was in place.
The UK is grappling with 10.1% inflation - the fastest price rises in 40 years - driven by soaring food, energy, petrol and diesel costs.
A typical household gas and electricity bill will rise by 80% to £3,549 a year from October, Ofgem announced on Friday.
Energy prices shot up when Covid lockdowns lifted and demand began to return to normal. They have also increased because Russian has sharply cut its supplies of gas to Europe, pushing up the price of gas across the continent, including in the UK.
Over time, "consumers may have to adjust to permanently higher energy prices", Ovo said in a statement.
"But the scale of the shock of the recent price rise this winter threatens to tip the economy into a deep recession and will be catastrophic for millions of low income households," it added.
Mr Fitzpatrick, the founder and chief executive of Ovo, which has 4.5 million customers, has published a 10-point plan to address the crisis.
A similar proposal by Scottish Power to freeze energy bills for all at their current level was dismissed by the Treasury for giving the same relief to richer and poorer households.
Under Mr Fitzpatrick's plan, everyone would get some assistance, but higher earners would see the amount of help taper off as they used more energy.
This is a similar way to how the tax system works with a tax-free allowance and increased levels of taxation for those on higher incomes.
He is also urging the government to bring forward existing support measures.
Currently all households will see £400 knocked off bills over a six-month period starting from October, with households on qualifying benefits getting up to an additional £650.
Mr Fitzpatrick argues those payments should be made in full before Christmas.
He said the higher charges faced by pre-payment customers amounted to a poverty penalty and should be abolished.
Mr Fitzpatrick also advocates abolishing the standing charge - which customers pay regardless of their energy use.
Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss - who pollsters have tipped to win the contest - hinted on Wednesday she would look at providing further support to businesses and households. She also ruled out energy rationing - unlike rival Rishi Sunak, who said it should not be taken off the table.
'Winter like never before'
Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation has published a report which says typical household disposable incomes are on course to fall by 10%, or £3,000, over this year and next - "the deepest living standards squeeze in a century".
The think tank also said the number of people living in absolute poverty was set to rise by three million to 14 million people in 2023-24. Absolute poverty is when household income is below the level necessary to meet basic living standards in terms of food, housing and healthcare costs.
A review by the UCL Institute of Health Equity (IHE) has suggested growing up in cold homes will have "dangerous consequences" for many children now and into adulthood.
IHE director Professor Michael Marmot warned thousands of extra deaths could occur and the health and development of up to 10 million children could be affected directly or indirectly.
Mr Fitzpatrick said helping low income families with energy bills "has to be the first order of business" for the new Conservative leader.
He said: "If we don't use every available moment over the next 12 weeks to solve this, we are going to see a winter like never before with people going hungry and going cold and the NHS being overwhelmed by the health impacts of the energy crisis."
A spokesperson for the Department for Health said: "As the public would rightly expect, we are working closely with the NHS to ensure we are ready for extra pressures this winter, including providing an extra £79m last year to significantly expand our mental health services, enabling more children and young people to get help."
Mr Fitzpatrick said there was "almost nothing that we can do right now that's going to be in time for 1 October when prices go up".
However, there were lots of short, medium and long-term changes to the energy system that would make it work better for customers, he said.
"It is incredibly important that we have a plan that will get us through the winter no matter what. We can't wait for the cold weather to come to try to figure out what we're going to do about it."
Single strategic buyer
Mr Fitzpatrick also wants to create a "national obsession" with energy efficiency including a medium term plan to insulate the UK's energy-leaky homes.
Longer term, he suggests the UK should establish a single strategic buyer for all the UK's energy needs.
He argued this would mean the UK could secure its energy on a multi-year basis rather than individual companies buying their energy three to six months in advance.
"Over the past 10 years, the free market approach has worked to deliver affordable energy for the UK but we should accept that the next 10 years are going to look very different," he said.
"We are entering into an era of global competition to secure energy supplies and we need to think strategically, long term and at a national level."
A spokesperson for the Department for Business said: "Officials are making the appropriate preparations in order to ensure that any additional support or commitments on cost of living can be delivered as quickly as possible when the new prime minister is in place."
Source: BBC
Image source: Business Wire
