The latest energy price cap increase by the regulator Ofgem threatens millions of households with an 80% energy bill rise from 1 October.
As the new price cap for a household with “typical consumption” on a dual-fuel tariff paying by direct debit has risen to £3,549 per year – and is forecast to jump to £5,341 between April and June 2023 – three people from across the country explain what the latest price rises will mean for them as the cold weather approaches.
‘I can barely afford a room in a flatshare in my 40s’
Lindsey Parker, 43, an occupational therapist for the NHS from Brighton, says the latest energy price cap rise has put her hopes of moving into a studio flat out of reach.
“I lived in a flatshare until March, and when I was asked to move out I moved into a van over the summer to save up and maybe be able to afford to rent a studio for the winter, but then the cost of living crisis kicked in.
“I’ve looked into the prices for gas and electricity and nearly had a heart attack. Even with my full-time job, I could under no circumstances afford a small studio plus bills. I’d risk spending 75% of my income on housing. Now with the increasing energy bills, the cost of renting a bedroom in a shared house is £800 in the community I serve – nearly 50% of my take home pay, and they’re rising. So even that’s a stretch now.”
Parker says she never imagined her life would be this restricted in middle age.
“It’s hard to have friends or romantic relationships as I feel like I can’t bring them to my home, I can’t go to the pub because it costs a fortune.
“My pay went up recently, but this got completely swallowed up by the cost of living, so I’m back to square one. I try to eat half my dinner and save the other half for lunch the next day. I can’t see a way out.
“We’re told to put lots of jumpers on, but we’re not over-consuming, we’re just trying to heat our homes over the winter. It’s disgraceful. What are Ofgem for if they’re just increasing the price cap? I’m really worried about my future.”
‘I don’t know whether I can turn the heating on at all this winter’
Joshua, 27, lives in Leicester and fears he may have to employ even more drastic energy-saving measures this winter than last.
“I’ve got a housemate moving in soon who will be able to help with the bills, thankfully,” the freelance translator says. “At the moment I’ve got my energy usage down to about £60 a month – though my energy company won’t let me drop my payments below £100 – by showering at the gym, never putting the boiler on, cooking all my meals in batch and never switching the TV on.
“The only energy I use is for my computer for work and maybe a lamp or two in the evening, plus the hi-fi for the odd bit of music.
“In terms of how I’ll cope, there’s nothing more I can really cut – I’ll just have to pay whatever it costs. Me and my old housemate were already down to an hour and a half of heating a day last winter. This winter I guess we’ll see how much we can afford.”
Last winter, he wore thermal clothing, a couple of jumpers and a dressing gown in the house, though his hands got cold, he says.
“If the energy prices keep going up, I’ll just have to hope I get more work to keep me afloat.”
‘With these prices, I won’t have any savings left if I live beyond 80’
Lyndon Savage, a retired builder from Shaw, Greater Manchester, has been dealing with the increasing cost of living by using savings, which, he says, are dwindling rapidly.
“I live on a state pension,” the 69-year-old says. “I regularly dip into my savings, my partner has a state pension and a small private pension and owns the house we live in, which is much better insulated and energy efficient than most.
“I haven’t had time to work out exactly how much we’ll be paying for energy, but I can’t cut electric and gas usage any more, and fear what our bills will be this winter. At the moment my income falls short about £300 a month, my partner breaks even. If our bills will rise fivefold as predicted, we’ll both have to use our savings.”
Savage says his financial plan for retirement is in peril.
“You can’t plan if prices rise every six months. Our food shopping is modest, we rarely buy meat, have almost no food waste, never eat out.
“It’s this uncertainty that scares me the most. If these prices are still this high in five years’ time, I’ll have a serious problem. I reckon that if I live to 80, my savings will have gone by then.
“If I could go to work I would, but I have a back problem from my builder years and would probably end up in bed for a week, and I don’t think anybody would have me around here. I just find it all rather shocking.”
