'I'm Terrified' How Rising Energy Bills Are Hitting UK Households

Almost one in 10 households are experiencing “fuel stress” amid surging gas and electricity prices – a figure set to treble after the new energy price cap comes in on 1 April. The Resolution Foundation forecasts that energy bills will become unaffordable for 27% of households when the price cap rises to about £2,000 a year. The poorest households may have to spend half their income on energy.

- Rachel Obordo Clea Skopeliti

‘I struggle to feed myself ’

Sarah Moorby, 39, in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, has been “absolutely terrified” about providing a meter reading to her new energy company since being switched over from People Energy, which went bust in September. “I was paying £105.78 a month before but my du al fuel bill for electric and gas, which covered October to midJanuary with British Gas, was £627.”

Moorby, who works as a welfare assistant and has three teenage children, applied for a warm home discount after she started receiving universal credit in March last year. She says she is looking at an increase of about £2,500 for the year, but is still waiting to hear if the discount will be applied to her bill. “I’ve got used to shaving off money here and there to make the pennies go further, but an extra £115 a month is going to have to come out of my food bill, or clothing for the kids,” she says.

“ I’ve already lost 2 stone because I struggle to feed myself, and choose to feed the kids. I just don’t think I’m going to be able to afford it. The fear I have is if I don’t pay it or can’t pay it they’ll put me on a prepayment meter, which will cost me more and some days I just won’t have the money to be able to put the electricity on.”

‘We may have to sell and move ’