​The boss of Octopus Energy has called on the government to urgently implement energy market reforms to help struggling households pay their bills.

The call comes as the world's fossil-fuel energy crisis escalates, with inflation being driven by a combination of factors, including post-pandemic economic factors and the war in Ukraine.

Already the UK is ramping up its renewable energy capacity, which will produce domestic power at a lower price than oil and gas but with a lag time until full production capacity can be achieved.

Octopus Energy is the fourth-biggest energy retailer in the UK, and the firm's bosses want to see the government lead sweeping energy market reforms that will create a truly sustainable energy sector and help to safeguard customers without causing energy bills to surge further.

Ofgem has already published a report proposing ways to help mitigate the energy crisis and prevent any further suppliers from going out of business in the energy market. Already 29 UK operating energy companies have gone out of business since September as a result of soaring wholesale costs.

The cost of transferring these stranded customers to other energy firms has meant a levy of nearly £100 being applied to every household's energy bills.

Ofgem wants to see direct debits that suppliers can charge tightened so that credit balances do not escalate. They also want to see restrictions on energy firms and their financial health so that their operations do not depend on maintaining customer credit balances.

Octopus says that these measures will not stimulate true change in the market and should not be viewed as sufficient. They want to see the government go further to implement clear measures that will make a quick and meaningful difference to the UK's struggling households.