3 March 2008
Government officials are set to meet with energy companies to try and persuade them to give a proportion of their profits to the elderly.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper and Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks will talk with staff from E.ON, EDF and Centrica, reports the Guardian.
Ministers have stated that companies could have made profits due to a European Union scheme that saw them given pollution permits.
One of these officials told the publication: "The clock is ticking because we need to sort this out by March 12, the date of the budget. We are urging them that it is in their interests to help because they are getting a bad press."
At present, the government is "testing the waters" over such proposals, the source added.
Chief Executive of the Association of Electricity Producers David Porter has argued that any changes made could have "unintended" consequences on the industry.
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