Energy News

Final energy price hike strikes

Wednesday 09 November, 2011

By Martin Fagan

As the last price hike kicks in, some Brits fear fuel poverty while others debate whether to turn heating on or wear more clothes

The last of the summer’s energy price hikes comes into effect on Thursday (10th November), when EDF Energy increases its prices by 15.4% for gas and 4.5% for electricity.

The increase brings to an end a year of misery for consumers where energy bills rocketed by 21%, or £224, on average.

With the average household now facing an energy bill of £1,293 a year, the number of households living in fuel poverty has risen to 6.9 million. In the UK, fuel poverty is said to occur when a household needs to spend more than 10% of its income to maintain an adequate standard of heating.

While autumn has been unseasonably warm, 87% of Brits are worried about the cost of their energy bills as they head towards what is forecast to be a severe winter, according to research from independent switching service, uSwitch.com.

“Two price hikes from all the ‘big six’ suppliers will put a significant strain on family finances and many will be forced to ration their energy use in order to keep a lid on bills,” said Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com.

“Almost seven million households are now in fuel poverty, but the alarming fact is that many more will have to go without heating to keep bills down.”

According to uSwitch.com, this year 23 million households (89%) will ration their energy use to save on bills - a 16% increase on last year - while over half of all households (55%) will risk their health or wellbeing by going without heating at some point in order to keep their energy costs down.

However, separate research has discovered that the combination of unseasonal warmer autumn days and colder nights is causing conflict among households across the UK about whether to turn the heating on or slip on an extra layer of clothing.

Research by moneysupermarket.com found over 26 million Brits would rather wear extra layers this winter than turn the heating on.

When it comes to wrapping up warm, those in the southwest are the most prudent, with two-thirds (63%) preferring to put a jumper on over turning the heating on.