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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Tom Kershaw & Laura Sharman

Woman allergic to the cold says £2,500 energy bill cap isn't enough fearing 525% hike

A woman with an allergy to the cold which means she must maintain a constant temperature in her home says the £2,500 energy cap bill isn't enough.

Sam Newland, 50, has cold urticaria and develops rashes and painful welts on her skin when she gets cold.

Not only is there no cure, but the same symptoms are triggered by sweat.

She has to have her heating on a constant 30 degrees in winter - but keep fans on constantly around her home during hot weather.

The personal assistant, from Stevenage, Herefordshire, said her electricity bills used to be £48-a-month but have crept up and up.

She also has fibromyalgia and onset rheumatoid arthritis, so her symptoms worsen in the cold, reports Leicestershire Live.

Sam during a flair up (Sam Newland / SWNS)
She has to keep fans on constantly during hot weather (Sam Newland / SWNS)

Sam worries she will be left at breaking point if she is forced to keep her heating off due to extortionate prices.

After Liz Truss ’ announcement last week to cap energy prices at £2,500 a year, her and husband, Andy, 60, a print finisher, are still going to be struggling this winter, she said.

Sam must maintain her body heat between 26C and 27C, otherwise her skin becomes irritated.

Sam's rash caused by her allergy to the heat and cold (SWNS)

She said: “It’s crazy, confusing, ridiculous and completely incomprehensible.

"We don’t have high-flying jobs, we’re not on super salaries - we break even every month.

"We’re going to be paying over half of what we do now. I don’t know where everyone will get the money from.

"I would need a salary increase of £10,000 to be able to afford the rising prices.”

Rashes and painful welts spread on her skin (SWNS)

Sam stressed how she doesn’t have the option to put more layers on, as the extra clothing irritates her skin further.

“It doesn’t work just to put another layer on, what should I do walk around like an abominable snowman?” she said.

She also worries for others who are in worse financial positions than herself.

“God forbid (what will happen to) people who don’t have our salaries, it’s going to be hard enough for us," she added.

Sam said maintaining a perfect temperature in her home will see her bills shoot up by 525 per cent (Sam Newland / SWNS)

If it gets to the point she can’t turn on the heating, Sam and her partner would have to move in with her dad.

Before the announcement, her bills were set to rise to £300 a month, totalling £3,600 a year, but now they would be capped at around £208 a month for the next two years.

She said: “If I don’t have the heating on during winter I will be in dreadful pain. My welts will get bigger and more painful.”

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