Commenting on the figures published by the National Audit Office today which reveal that energy and water bills will continue to soar for the next 17 years, Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy atUswitch.com, says: “These figures are simply shocking. The country is already on the brink of an energy affordability crisis with almost seven in ten households (69%) going without heating at some point last winter and over eight in ten (83%) saying they will be rationing their energy use this winter in an attempt to keep a lid on bills. Once bills hit £1,500 a year, almost four in ten (36%) will be forced to turn their heating off entirely.
“Affordability has got to move back to the heart of energy policy. The treasury has got to do a proper impact assessment to see what this means for consumers in real terms but it’s also important that we get competition working fully in the energy market. Most consumers are seriously concerned about their energy bills and the recent price hikes have only added to their woes, making almost eight in ten (78%) more worried about their winter fuel bills this year. Such is the concern about affordability that energy costs are now the top household worry for nine in ten (90%) consumers and the fact that this could continue to be a worry for almost the next two decades is a dreadful prospect. These NAO predictions will only serve to add more distress for households.
“I would now urge consumers to ‘future-proof’ their energy bills this winter by signing up to one of the many competitive fixed price energy tariffs on the market. Now more than ever, it is imperative that consumers get serious about making their home energy efficient, keeping themselves informed of all the options available to them, rather than resorting to drastic and potentially harmful measures to keep warm.”
1. Research was conducted with the Uswitch.com Consumer Opinion Panel amongst 2,099 respondents in January 2013. In response to: ‘Have you gone without heating this winter to keep your energy costs down?’ 50.6% said ‘occasionally’, 16.5% said ‘regularly’, 1.7% said ‘always’. This adds up to 68.8% who went without heating at some point this winter. Research in the notes below was conducted with the Uswitch.com Consumer Opinion Panel in September 2013 amongst 1,250 adults with bill paying responsibility for their household energy. 2. In response to: ‘Are you planning to cut back on the amount of energy you use this winter to make your bills cheaper?’ 51.3% said ‘I am already doing this’ and 31.2% said ‘Yes, I am planning to’. This adds up to 82.5%. Assuming that each person represents one household and on the basis of 26,442,096 million households in the UK we come to 21,814,729 households. 3. Research carried out in September 2011 with the uSwitch.com Consumer Opinion Panel amongst 2,295 adults with bill paying responsibility for gas and electricity in their household. The £1,500 affordability tipping point is the point at which there is a marked difference in consumer behaviour. This is based on responses to the following question: ‘Following recent price increases, the average household energy bill is now over £1,200 a year. How much would your yearly energy bill have to be before you would consider the following actions….’) 4. In response to: ‘Have rumours of a potential price increase by one of the big six energy companies made you more worried about your winter energy bills?’ 77.9% said ‘yes’, 18.1% said ‘No’. 4% don’t know. NB SSE has subsequently announced a price hike coming into effect 15th November, 2013. 5. In response to: ‘Thinking of the rising cost of living, which FOUR of the following worry you THE MOST?’, the responses were: energy bills 89.6%, food bills 74.7%, petrol 65.5%, council tax 49.1%, mortgage/rent payments 37.6%, insurance 25.7%, phone/broadband bills 18.5%, public transport fares 9.8%, and I am not worried 4.2%
It’s all about “U”!
Thank you for indulging us over the last 20 years by using a small ‘u’ and a big ‘S’ when writing about our brand in your articles.
We are delighted to let you know that you are now off the hook - it’s big U’s all the way (and small s’s) as we undertake our biggest ever rebrand - so let your autocorrect go wild!
Uswitch is the UK’s top comparison website for home services switching. Launched in September 2000, we help consumers save money on their gas, electricity, broadband, mobile, TV, and financial services products and get more of what matters to them. Last year we saved consumers over £373 million on their energy bills alone.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a new business that also owns Money.co.uk and Bankrate.
If you would no longer like to receive our press releases please email prteam@uswitch.com with 'unsubscribe'.