Rising energy bills put millions of UK households at risk of winter catastrophe
Millions of households are bracing for a winter catastrophe of rising energy bills that experts say will plunge people into destitution and cause an increase in avoidable deaths without urgent government support.
After Britain’s energy industry regulator confirmed an 80% rise in the consumer price cap from October that will take a typical household’s gas and electricity bill to £3,549 a year, there were stark warnings about its potentially devastating effects.
Charities said the rise would completely “wipe out” the incomes of poorer households, leaving millions with the threat of bills they cannot pay or the choice between heating and eating this winter.
Highlighting the damage to whole sections of the population, analysts at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said single parents would be forced to hand over almost two-thirds of their income after housing costs to pay energy bills.
The poorest single adults would, they said, see their finances wiped out by “stratospheric” energy bills representing 120% of their income after housing costs, leaving many destitute.
Condemning inaction by ministers, the consumer champion Martin Lewis warned “lives will be lost this winter”.
The latest rise announced by Ofgem highlighted once again a power vacuum at the heart of government as ministers await the conclusion of the race to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative party.
The Conservatives were in disarray over their response to the price cap on Friday, which will mean typical bills will have trebled from a year earlier.
Nadhim Zahawi, the chancellor, suggested people should think about reducing their energy use, but his likely successor, Kwasi Kwarteng, said he was opposed to giving such advice to consumers.
Liz Truss, the
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