NEW ANALYSIS FROM CITIZENS ADVICE shows one in four (24 per cent) people in the UK simply will not be able to afford to pay their energy bills in October based on current forecasts. This is double the number already in the red ahead of the price cap rise.
The figure could jump to one in three (34 per cent) people in January when prices are predicted to soar above £4,200. The charity’s projections take account of the energy rebate and cost-of-living payments offered by the government, showing that spiralling costs are rapidly outstripping the support on offer.
Of those who will not be able to pay in October, the majority (68 per cent) have a household income of less than £30,000. Some will bear the brunt of rising energy bills, with 3.2 million disabled people and 4.4 million families with children set to be unable to afford October’s hikes. “Every day that goes by without a plan is another day without reassurance for people who desperately need it. On average, those who can’t afford autumn’s predicted rise will end up almost £100-a-month in the red.
Citizens Advice says that future support must target those who need it most. Alongside further interventions from the government to help people with bills, it is calling for Ofgem to ensure that people are protected from the most serious consequences of falling into arrears. This includes a suspension of forced installations of prepayment meters.
The charity is also sounding the alarm that rising prices will drag more people into dire circumstances. Many of its frontline advisers are already sharing reports of people needing crisis support, such as food bank referrals and fuel vouchers, who have never previously contacted Citizens Advice.
Its analysis shows that over half (53 per cent) who will be in the red come October will not receive the additional cost–of-living payments targeted to people on benefits, disabled people and low-income pensioners. With future price rises rapidly outpacing the value of the energy rebate, it warns further action will be needed to stop more people falling into debt.
The charity’s latest data dashboard shows that despite a record-breaking heatwave, worries about paying energy bills are still front of mind for many of the people it supports.
People who pay for their energy via prepayment meter are some of those struggling the most. In July, the charity saw record numbers of people who were unable to top up their prepayment meter – the fifth time this record has been broken this year
Meanwhile in July 2022, Citizens Advice’s web page on help with rising living costs was viewed over 70,000 times. This is an increase of 40 per cent on its previous record in March 2020 when the country went into the first national coronavirus lockdown.
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Every single day at Citizens Advice we’re already helping people in the most heartbreaking circumstances, trying to scrape together enough to feed their kids and keep the lights on. This will get far, far worse unless the government acts.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that skyrocketing prices will swallow up all of the help that has been announced so far.
“Every day that goes by without a plan is another day without reassurance for people who desperately need it. We urgently need further support, otherwise we risk a winter of despair for millions.”
* See the Citizens Advice cost of living data dashboard here.
* Source: Citizens Advice