Stirling residents are grappling with some of the highest energy bills in the UK, according to a new report.
The data from the Compare the Market website has revealed that households in Stirling pay an average of £1,773 per year for their energy - a total of 28 per cent more than the price cap which is set to be introduced next year.
It places Stirling as the 40th most expensive place for energy bills in the UK out of 408 regions included in the data.
It follows on from grim warnings from Stirling CAB's Craig Anderson in last week’s Observer that some people in the region may be forced into difficult decisions between paying energy meters and going to the shops.
The report shows that Scottish householders are currently paying more for their bills than their counterparts in England and Wales, with rural areas such as the Orkney and Shetland islands and Argyll and Bute among the regions with sky-high rates.
Stirling MSP Evelyn Tweed said: “People across Scotland, including in Stirling, are paying the price for sky-high energy bills, despite Scotland having an abundance of resources in oil and gas and renewables.
“The vast revenue from Scotland’s oil and gas industry has been squandered by UK governments for decades under Westminster control. Now it’s consumers in Stirling who are getting hammered with higher average energy costs, with bills here being the 40th most expensive out of 408 areas in Great Britain.
“This is also a result of the outrageous and expensive transmission charges that are charged in Scotland for companies to access the national grid here.
“The Chancellor announced measures last month which – welcome though they were - will barely scratch the surface of the rocketing energy bills crippling households now and in the winter months to come.
“High fuel bills in Stirling and across Scotland lay squarely at the door of the Westminster government and hammers home why Scotland needs the full range of powers that will come with independence.”
In response to concerns over rocketing energy prices, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £21 billion package of measures last week, which included a £400 rebate on energy bills.
However, energy advice worker at Stirling CAB, Gary Egan, told the Observer last week that while the measures were “greatly appreciated”, they would also create “winners and losers”.
Mr Egan added: “The overwhelming majority of my clients are on some type of benefit and pay by pre-payment meter.
“The £400 paid universally in October, should be applied automatically and remotely, this is on the assumption the client has a smart meter, not all do and in all likelihood they would receive ten £40 vouchers.
“These same clients would benefit from the £650 cash payment, two instalments, one in July and the other in the autumn.
“My concern would be, from a budgeting point of view, not all the funds will hit their intended target. The majority of clients arrive at our door as they struggle with budgeting in general, a more equitable spread over a longer period of time would have been more preferable.”
