UK govt demands utilities fund vouchers for poor

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - British gas and electricity companies are being ordered by the government to fund a "fuel poverty" scheme that will hand out vouchers to the poorest households, an industry source said on Monday.

Chief executives of utility firms including Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Centrica (CNA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and E.ON EONG.DE have been called in to meet ministers at the Treasury in recent days to discuss the scheme, the source added. Weekend newspaper reports said Alistair Darling, Britain's finance minister, plans to unveil the fuel poverty programme in his budget on March 12.

The move follows widespread complaints over ballooning gas and electricity bills.

Five of the six big suppliers to British homes and small businesses have announced big price increases this year, blaming soaring wholesale energy costs.

Britain's energy watchdog Ofgem launched an investigation into power and gas supply markets because of growing public concern on Feb. 21.

(Reporting by Pete Harrison)