1.7M PREPARE FOR NO HEATING

Figure doubles since 2023, with 55% blaming rocketing costs

- GRAHAM HISCOTT

AN estimated 1.7 million households are preparing to go without heating altogether this winter amid consistently sky high bills.

That is nearly double the estimated 972,000 of last year, research by price comparison website Uswitch suggests.

Worryingly for the government, a quarter of pensioners who say they will not turn on their heating put it down to the loss of winter fuel payments.

The findings from a survey of 2,000 people come as most households are braced for a jump in energy bills from October 1.

Regulator Ofgem's energy price cap is set to rise by 10%, taking a typical household's annual gas and electricity bill to £1,717.