New analysis by consultants LCP of detailed data on household spending patterns suggests that many elderly widows and those on pension credit were already at high risk of living in fuel poverty even before the surge in energy bills in recent years. Even if the government comes up with additional help to cover increased bills,…
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Ahead of the autumn bill hikes, household energy debt is already standing at an all-time high of £1.3 billion – nearly three times higher than it was in September last year according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. Six million homes – almost a quarter of households (23%) – owe an average of…
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The UK’s three largest debt charities have called on the energy regulator Ofgem to urgently increase protections for people with energy arrears, as rising costs continue to impact households. Citizens Advice, the Money Advice Trust and StepChange Debt Charity are warning that with a further substantial rise in the energy price cap coming in October,…
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The Government should immediately update its package of support to help households with soaring energy bills before the cost-of-living crisis grips even harder following October’s energy price cap increase, according to a new report by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEIS). The report comes as people are feeling the squeeze of 40-year high…
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8.2 million households, one in three in the UK, are expected to be in fuel poverty following October’s price cap increase, National Energy Action has warned. Today fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) releases worrying new figures amid the cost-of-living crisis. Energy experts Cornwall Insight has predicted that when the price cap rises in…
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Ofgem boss Jonathan Brearley has told MPs the regulator expects the price cap to increase by more than £800 this October as the war in Ukraine continues to exacerbate the energy crisis. Appearing before the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee both Brearley and former Ofgem Chief Executive Dermot Nolan apologised for not intervening…
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The amount of money that households collectively owe to their energy suppliers has doubled in the past year to reach £1 billion, with a quarter (23%) of consumers now in energy debt, according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. The number of households in debt to their supplier has risen by…
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The number of English households in ‘fuel stress’ will double from 2.5 to 5 million as a result of the price cap rising from today (Friday), with another 2.5 million households at risk in October if the price cap rises again to £2,500, according to new Resolution Foundation research. The research shows that low-income households…
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New research published by Citizens Advice has predicted that £145-a-month hikes to energy costs in October could mean one in four adults, equivalent to 14.5 million people, will be unable to afford their bills. The figure is up from around five million saying they already can’t afford April’s price increase of £60-a-month. The charity included…
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Charity, Age UK has joined the call for the Chancellor to do more to help older people through the energy price crisis. The charity says that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of older households in England will be in fuel stress when energy prices go up from 1st April, this is up from just…
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A hike in the energy price cap of £693 is set to push two in five families into debt, according to the latest Household Financial Confidence Tracker from comparethemarket.com. The price cap was announced in February and will come into effect in April. 42% of families with children at home believe they will need to take on…
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The End Fuel Poverty Coalition (EFPC) has issued a warning that the energy crisis could leave 8.5 million households unable to heat and power their homes. The group, which represents almost 50 organisations, claims that cold homes cost lives and that more frail and older people could die next winter without further action from the…
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Households will face a record energy bill increase of 54% from April after regulator after Ofgem lifted the cap on default tariffs to £1,971. With energy market prices increasing fourfold over the last year, Ofgem upped the maximum rate that suppliers can charge for an average dual-fuel energy tariff by £693. Once the increase comes…
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