Two thirds of households not confident on energy bill affordability

Before further government measures are expected to be announced later today (Thursday 8th September) new data from Comparethemarket has revealed that one in two households (56%) are not confident they will be able to afford energy bills this winter, rising to two-thirds of families (64%) with children at home. Households say, on average, they will need to earn an additional £425.77 each month (or £5,109.24 each year) to be able to afford their energy bills. This follows Ofgem’s announcement that the energy price cap will increase from £1,971 to £3,549 this October.

More than a quarter of households (28%) say they found it difficult to pay their bills over the past week. This represents a 10% rise compared to the height of the pandemic, pre-vaccine, in June 2021, when 18% of households were worried about paying their finances.

The findings also reveal one in three households (34%) are not confident they will be able to meet their financial commitments over the coming weeks, rising to 42% for households with children at home.

This comes at a time when seven in ten 70% already feel more pessimistic about their finances compared to this time last year. As the cost-of-living crisis deepens, people are having to reduce everyday spending, with 37% being forced to cut back on their food shop. Households are also eating out less (59%), buying fewer clothes (52%), and cutting back on holidays (46%) and leisure activities (45%). Despite this, almost a quarter (24%) of households say they are likely to take on additional debt to afford everyday bills, rising to 38% of households with children at home.

Alex Hasty, director at Comparethemarket said “While support measures should soon be announced by the government, our findings reflect the current worsening conditions for families, as energy bills soar and the cost of living continues to rise. Millions of families are cutting back on food and anticipating falling into debt to afford their rising energy bills. As the energy price cap changes come into effect 1st October, people should check their households bills now to see where they could save money and encourage friends and family to do the same. Comparing prices online is one of the best ways to check you are getting value for money.”