Energy News

Rising Energy Costs 'Prey on the Vulnerable'

Tuesday 05 February, 2008

By Dan Drage

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Scottish Power has become the latest energy supplier to increase their retail costs, and a Save the Children survey suggests poorer families are cutting back on their food shopping to compensate.

According to the survey, 44% of families living on less than £15,000 a year are unable to heat their homes, and 15% of all households have been forced to reduce their grocery spend and clothing budgets in order to meet fuel costs.

These cost cutting measures have been exacerbated this week by the decision of Scottish Power (www.scottishpower.com) to increase gas prices by 15%, and electricity prices by 14%. Scottish Power said customers with dual-fuel tariffs faced an average increase of 14.8%. The new prices will not impact 1.2 million customers on capped or fixed price deals.

Scottish Power join EDF, npower and British Gas in raising their prices, with soaring wholesale costs blamed in each case. E.on are expected to announce similar increases in the next 48 hours.

The predominate reason for the low income group to be hit hardest has been cited as the way they’re instructed to pay for their energy. These groups often use prepayment meters that are set at the highest available tariff, and these meters are crippling low income earners even further.

Phillipa Hunt of the Save the Children charity had the following to say:

‘Fuel poverty is an outrage, particularly for children. It means they are experiencing the effects of cold on a daily basis’

The survey prompted a response from the government, who ensured ‘those in need will receive help'.

Chris Eagle, Commercial Manager at EnergyChoices, urges those who are struggling to contact their supplier:

‘If you’re struggling to meet payments on energy bills then contact your supplier and see if there is anything they can do to help you. There are state schemes set up to help you out, plus energy suppliers such as npower (www.npower.com), British Gas (www.britishgas.co.uk) and EDF have introduced special tariffs for those who are most vulnerable.’