Britain goes without heating as bills become unaffordable
Almost nine in ten households (89%) will be rationing their energy use this winter to save on bills, according to new research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service. As a result, potentially 23 million households will be switching off or turning down this winter - 4 million or 16% more than last year.
As Britain braces itself for another freezing winter, the 21% or £224 hike in energy prices within the last 12 months has left 87% of people worried about the cost of this year's winter fuel bills - a 26% increase on last year. It also means that energy bills are now the biggest worry for consumers (90%), ahead of food bills (77%), the cost of petrol (74%), council tax (59%) and mortgage or rent (42%). An overwhelming majority of consumers, 88%, attribute their mounting concerns over winter fuel bills directly to recent price hikes.
Last winter over half of all households (55%) went without heating at some point to keep their energy costs down. While many risked their health or well-being with inadequate heating, others made potentially damaging sacrifices to keep their heating on. In fact, just a quarter of people (25%) were able to afford to heat their home last winter without sacrificing anything. 17% reduced the number of hot baths or showers they took, 16% bought less food and 18% cut back on lighting. And while 13% sacrificed watching TV, using computers or other non-essential activities, 6% went without hot dinners and 3% of households sacrificed buying medicines to pay for their heating.
As well as quality of life, the rising cost of energy has hit household disposable income - nine in ten households (93%) have seen their disposable income reduced by the rising cost of energy. Over a third (37%) have seen a dramatic reduction while 19% no longer have any disposable income left.
As a result, growing numbers are being forced to go into debt to pay their essential household bills. Over one in three households (37%) are struggling to pay their essential bills and have turned to debt to cover them. Two in ten (20%) owe £500 to £1,000. However, 17% owe between £1,000 to £2,000 and 14% are drowning in over £3,000 worth of bill debt.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: "The rising cost of energy has hit everyone hard, but the idea of people going without heating this winter is alarming. Almost 7 million households are now in fuel poverty, with single working parents and pensioners the worst hit. But these are not the only households that can't afford to keep warm - almost nine in ten homes will be rationing their energy use this winter and the impact on health and quality of life should not be underestimated.
"As the cost of our energy bills escalates people are being forced into making potentially dangerous choices. Whether they sacrifice something else to keep the heating on or turn the heating off to pay for something else, there is a modern-day Russian roulette going on in homes up and down the country.
"The fact is that we must all start thinking about and managing our energy usage and there are two key steps to this - use less energy by making your home more energy efficient and pay less for the energy you do use. By improving energy efficiency and ensuring they are on the most competitive plan for them, hopefully households can keep their winter fuel bills manageable without resorting to drastic and potentially dangerous measures."