Bill payers' shock as sky high winter energy bills hit home
Following the coldest winter Britain has experienced for a decade and the heaviest snowfall seen in eighteen years, research from moneysupermarket.com can reveal 42 per cent of Brits have been left shocked by their most recent energy bills for the winter.More worryingly, the research from the UK's leading price comparison site also found a tenth of bill payers (10 per cent) cannot afford to pay their bill. Specific regions appear to be struggling more than others, with 13 per cent of residents in Wales and 12 per cent of those in Northern Ireland claiming they can't afford to pay for their usage.
Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com said: "With winter energy bills landing on the doormat now, it comes as no surprise such a large number of bill payers are experiencing high costs as 40 per cent of annual energy consumption is used over the winter period. It is however concerning that such a large number of energy users (10 per cent) are struggling to afford their winter bills. Despite the recent round of price cuts from the Big Six energy providers, little relief is provided to those with hefty bills as they will still be paying a premium for their winter usage under their old pricing plan.
"It is crucial energy users are aware of the savings they could make by switching provider, and I would urge people to scour the market for the best tariff to suit their needs. Now is the time to review your current provider and method of payment to see where savings can be made. "
Other findings reveal:
Londoners were the most shocked at the high cost of their energy bill over the winter period (48 per cent) despite colder weather in Scotland
More than a quarter of bill payers (27 per cent) are not happy with the size of their bill but they expected it to be high
The winter period saw one in ten Brits (10%) actively taking out measures to reduce their energy usage
Only one per cent of people said their bill was unexpectedly low over the winter