Britain to have a 'very, very hard winter' this year: National Grid

John Pettigrew, the CEO of UK-based electricity and gas company National Grid, said many British households will have very tough times this winter, despite the government's price cap, and will struggle to pay the bills.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Pettigrew said he was pretty sure that the British people would have a very, very difficult winter financially.

"Even with the [taxpayer-funded] price cap this is a doubling-up of what people are used to paying for their energy bills," said Pettigrew.

"Therefore inevitably there are going to be people who are going to struggle."

The British government has limited the energy cost until April. This means that the average household will pay an average of $2,885 per year, while last winter the equivalent amount was $1,474.

Each household will also receive a £400 reduction in electricity bills, with additional payments, through Social Security benefits.

However, given rising energy prices, this will still not close the current gap.

Pettigrew said the National Grid is working on a set of contingency plans to protect the UK against the energy deficit from Europe.