Housing energy bills leaves Brits in a financial crisis

Over a quarter of UK households are struggling to deal with energy bills, according to the latest research.




Following this year’s 21% price hike, which added an extra £224 to the annual dual fuel bill, millions of homes across the country are finding it difficult to afford both gas and electricity.



A price comparison website found that 32% of households believe energy is already ‘unaffordable’ in the UK. A further 69% said that the government has not got it right when it comes to affordable energy and ‘going green’.



More and more homes are facing financial turmoil as the cost of living soars. The government plans to invest £200 billion into a new carbon reduction policy which could result in even higher energy bills over the next decade.



Despite this, and the government’s plans to ease financial burdens on UK families, many people confessed that they could not afford an increase as low as £30 a month.



The average household energy bill now stands at £1,293 per year, which is 14% short of the affordability threshold.



£1,500 a year spent on energy would be the absolute tipping point for households as 77% confessed that any more would send them over the edge.



Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch, commented; "This is a wake-up call and the clearest evidence yet that the UK is on the brink of an affordability crisis when it comes to household energy. We are now just £207 or 14% away from hitting an affordability ceiling after which consumers will start rationing their usage as though they are living in the third world.”



Many Brits are already stretched and 30% of people admitted they could go without adequate heating when their bill reaches £1,000 a year. This percentage almost doubled if the bill increased to £1,500 a year.



Almost 7 million UK households are living in fuel poverty and a third of people claim that energy is not affordable in the UK.


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