Almost half of British adults will ration their energy use this winter, a survey has found, as energy bills will rise again by 10% this week.
Charities have called on the government to do more to help vulnerable people to heat their homes, with the average household bill scheduled to rise by £149 after the energy price cap increases on Tuesday.
According to the YouGov survey on behalf of the fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, 46% of adults are likely to use less energy than they need to maintain comfort and wellbeing.
Forty-five per cent 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.
About six million UK households will be left in fuel poverty – needing to spend more than 10% of their income on heating bills – when the latest price cap comes in, the charity said.
Under the new cap, the average annual energy bill will rise to £1,717 a year for gas and electricity, up from £1,568, which has been set since July.
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.”
Total UK household energy debt stands at £3.7bn, according to Ofgem.
“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 bills,” Scorer said. “But this must be the last winter for the quick fix.”
NEA’s survey found that 4% 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.
Labour’s decision to scrap the winter fuel payment for most pensioners, which was introduced by the last Labour government in 1997, is likely to make such situations worse, charities and campaign groups have said.
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 was “reckless and wrong” and “spells disaster for pensioners on low and modest incomes”.
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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”.
“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.”