Energy prices close to leaving a third in cold

Thursday, 6 October 2011 11:05 AM

Over a third of households may be forced to turn off their heating entirely if energy bills continue to rise.

Energy prices have risen steadily over the last year, increasing on average by 21 per cent or £224 and the latest research by uSwitch.com shows the strain this is putting on consumers.

The average household energy bill is currently £1,293 a year and a third of those surveyed told uSwitch.com that the tipping point at which they will have to consider turning off their heating is £1,500.

Six in ten said that at £1,500 they'd have to go without adequate heating and almost 80 per cent said they would have to ration their usage.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com warned that this is a "wake-up call" to the government that the UK is on the brink of an affordability crisis.

She said: "We are now just £207 or 14 per cent away from hitting an affordability ceiling after which consumers will start rationing their usage as though they are living in the third world."

Almost a third of consumers already believe energy is unaffordable in the UK and a quarter said that they are struggling to pay their bills at current levels.

This is all in the context of a substantial government investment programme aimed at cutting carbon emissions and switching to renewable energy.

Robinson continued: "We are facing a £200 billion shopping list of investment required to secure our longer-term supply, cut carbon, boost energy efficiency and roll-out smart metering into all homes.

"Unfortunately for consumers, British households can expect to be footing the bill. I would urge the government to calculate the full cost that will be passed onto household energy bills and to think again about the impact on affordability in the UK."

Sixty nine per cent of households surveyed by uSwitch.com said that the government has failed to strike the right balance between 'greening' energy supplies and promoting affordable energy.

If you're struggling with rising energy bills then check out AboutProperty's top ten free energy saving tips.

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• energy prices
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• heating