The Government must force energy suppliers to use their bumper profits to help the 5.5 million households facing fuel poverty this winter, campaigners said today.

The combined profits of the big six energy companies last year were more than double those in 2006, rising from £2.07 billion in 2006 to £4.3 billion in 2007.

Yet their spend on social tariffs, which offer the cheapest deals to their most vulnerable customers, decreased as a percentage of their profits, from just 1.9 per cent of profit levels in 2006, to only 1.2 per cent in 2007.

Now a new coalition of charities – Age Concern, Child Poverty Action Group, and National Energy Action (NEA) – are demanding that the Government force suppliers to give low-income households a fair deal on spiralling energy prices. So far the Government has relied on a “voluntary” approach from the suppliers to help their most vulnerable customers.

Maria Wardrobe at NEA said: “Social tariffs are failing to help the most vulnerable households. Only a minority of those in fuel poverty are on these tariffs and the rates are not always the cheapest offered by energy suppliers. The tariffs are not sufficiently publicised and are not included on price comparison websites.

“The Government must address this injustice and force suppliers to offer poor and vulnerable households their cheapest prices.”

Fuel poverty is when one tenth or more of a household’s income is spent on fuel bills. The recent round of energy price increases, which takes the average family annual bill to almost £1,500, is likely to push the total number of fuel-poor households to 5.5 million this year.

Currently only around 540,000 consumers are receiving support under the energy suppliers’ social packages. Suppliers have agreed to spend an extra £50million on social assistance schemes this year – but campaigners say this is “a drop in the ocean” of what is needed to help the fuel-poor.

Paul Dornan at Child Poverty Action Group said: "We cannot have families huddling in the cold this winter inside their homes which they can't afford to heat.

“The voluntary approach is failing and government and the energy companies need a plan of action within weeks to ensure the millions of fuel poor households are on social tariffs in time for winter.”

The charities are calling for social tariffs to be made available to all vulnerable households who need them, with penalties considered for energy companies that fail to take action.