Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Mr Matheson said that the UK Government’s response to the crisis has been “wholly inadequate”, pointing to the Scottish Government’s £41 million winter funding package.
He said: “I think there’s a real risk that lives will be lost this year as a result of the financial crisis.”
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Hide AdLast week, Ofgem announced a 54 per cent rise in the energy price cap, taking the price of an annual default tariff of £1,971 – up from £1,277.
He added: “I think it is a real risk and that’s why the action that's being proposed by the UK Government last week is insufficient to deal with the scale and the nature of the crisis which many individuals, particularly those from low income households, are now facing.”
He said the “serious” rise in energy prices would be compounded by the National Insurance rise planned for April and the cut to the Universal Credit uplift late last year.
Mr Matheson’s comments come as the chairman of Tesco warned that food prices could rise by five per cent by spring, fuelling fears of poverty for many families already hit hard by spiralling energy bills.
Tesco chairman John Allan told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "I predicted last autumn that food prices by the spring might be rising about five per cent. I sincerely believe that it's not going to be any more than that, it might even be slightly less, but that's the sort of number we're talking about.
“But of course five per cent, if you're spending - as some of the least well-off families are spending - 15 per cent of your household income, is significant.”
He added: “It troubles us and I'm sure troubles many people that people may have to struggle to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families and that's clearly not a situation that any of us should tolerate.”
He said that fuel prices are "unlikely to come down very quickly".