LONDON (Bloomberg) — One English household in five is struggling to pay energy bills, a proportion likely to rise as unemployment and fuel costs go up, according to a report by a government body that urges price controls and a general levy to pay for the poorest customers.

Gordon Brown's Labour government says it wants no one in fuel poverty — defined as spending 10 percent of their income on energy — by 2016.

The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group said yesterday the number of households defined as fuel poor had instead increased from 1.2 million in 2004 to four million in 2008. It warned that prices are likely to continue to rise as suppliers pay to build new power plants.

To help poor households meet their bills, the body proposes price controls to prevent suppliers charging more to customers who don't have their bills debited directly from their bank accounts, and a levy on all bills to fund rebates for the poorest. The UK's largest energy suppliers are Centrica Plc, EDF SA, and E.ON AG.

"We will be doing all we can to ease the burden on low-income households and provide the support required to be able to heat and power their homes at an affordable cost," Energy Minister David Kidney said in an e-mailed statement welcoming the report.