BOOMING energy giants face a tougher windfall tax within weeks with bills now forecast to hit £4,400 by next spring.
The Treasury is looking to beef up significantly a 25 per cent levy on their record-breaking profits announced in May.
Gas and electricity bosses will be hauled in for crisis talks with Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Thursday morning.
They want the fat cats to submit a breakdown of their expected profits and payouts as well as their investment plans for the next three years.
A Treasury source: “If you look back at what these firms were projected to make and what they actually brought in, it was beyond their wildest expectations. We are looking at options to go further and faster on those profits.”
One senior source added that the new “full fat” windfall tax would close loopholes in the proposed energy profits levy which is thought likely to raise £5billion.
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They say there is “too much wriggle room and it’s too open ended.”
The plan could even be unveiled before a new PM is appointed — with Mr Kwarteng tipped to be Liz Truss’s Chancellor if she is victorious.
Last night Boris Johnson told a Downing Street reception that his replacement would need to do more to help struggling families.
“Whoever he or she may be, I’m absolutely certain they will be wanting to make some more announcements,” he said.
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His comments come as energy bills are now forecast to be £650 more expensive than previously thought — taking bills to £4,267 year in January.
And in April next year they will be more than £4,400, according to analysis by Cornwall Insights.