Almost half of British adults will ration their energy use this winter against the back of a 10 percent increase in gas and electricity tariffs this week. Worryingly, some are even cutting back on using vital medical equipment to save on energy bills.
Charities have called on the government to do more to help vulnerable people to heat their homes, with the average household bill for OVO, Octopus Energy and other users scheduled to rise by £149 after the energy price cap increases on Tuesday.
A survey for the fuel poverty charity National Energy Action found that 46 percent of adults are likely to use less energy than they need to maintain comfort and wellbeing.
Some 45 percent of those on low incomes said they had already found it difficult to pay for their energy in the last year, while more than a third of those on prepayment meters said they had gone without power or heating when they needed it.
The charity said that about six million households will be left in fuel poverty – needing to spend more than 10 percent of their income on heating bills – after the latest increase in tariffs comes into effect tomorrow.
Under the new cap, the average annual energy bill will rise to £1,717 a year for gas and electricity, based on typical use, and the figure is predicted to rise again slightly in January.
The increases have triggered advice to struggling households to consider try to fix their tariffs at below the new cap with a number of energy providers offering tariffs that are around £100 cheaper.
National Energy Action’s chief executive, Adam Scorer, said: “Millions of households face another dreadful winter, resigned to increasing energy debt or not heating their homes at all.
“There is still time for the UK government to increase the support provided through the warm homes discount scheme and to work with Ofgem and energy suppliers to provide direct support to reduce bill. But this must be the last winter for the quick fix.”
Alarmingly, the NEA’s survey found that 4 percent of adults said they had even reduced their use of essential medical equipment such as oxygen and hoists in the last three months to save money.
Charities and fuel poverty campaigners said Labour’s decision to scrap the winter fuel payment for most pensioners is likely to make the situation worse with some claims it will lead to thousands of deaths among the sick and vulnerable.
About 10 million pensioners are likely to lose the automatic allowance, with extra payments only issued to about a million people who receive pension credit or claim other means-tested benefits.
Age UK’s charity director, Caroline Abrahams, said restricting the winter fuel payment is “reckless and wrong” and “spells disaster for pensioners on low and modest incomes”.
The coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, Simon Francis, said: “For many pensioners, this winter will feel like the most expensive on record. What’s worse, there are more price increases on the horizon.”
He said long-term plans to improve home energy efficiency and national energy security were welcome but would take time, and that it was “vital the ministers bring in more support for vulnerable households this winter”.
He claimed: “The energy industry has made more than £457bn in profit since the start of the crisis,” he said. “So there is plenty of money in the system to be able to ensure everyone stays warm this winter and next.”
Citizens Advice said many people were still not getting adequate customer service and support from their energy suppliers. Its chief executive, Dame Clare Moriarty, said: “We’re bracing ourselves for another challenging winter. Whilst suppliers’ customer service improved in the spring, firms need to continue upping their game to ensure people can access support in the colder months.
“The government must also urgently introduce targeted bill support that reflects the realities of people’s energy needs.”
Ofgem said: “Energy consumers deserve an easy and reliable service from their supplier. We’ve been working hard with the sector to drive up standards and create a more customer-centric energy future. This includes strengthening our procedures to take firmer action against suppliers when things go wrong and toughening up the rules around customer bills for greater accuracy.
“It’s clear the work of government, regulator, consumer groups and suppliers is starting to make a difference and customer satisfaction is slowly rising. But there is lots more work to be done to ensure exceptional customer service is the norm across the board and the energy sector is among the best sectors for how customers are treated. We will use all the powers at our disposal to get there.”
