I think not….Reports in all the papers today allude that homes in the UK should brace themselves for steep increases in their fuel bills, Britain’s energy regulator warned last night. Ofgem went onto say they feared a crisis in Russian gas supplies will ‘push up prices’ in the next few years.
The warning will worry thousands of households, particularly pensioners who are often forced to choose between heating and food, and families with young children who cannot afford to keep warm in the winter months.
The average gas and electricity bill, known as ‘dual fuel’, has more than doubled in the past five years from £580 to £1,240 a year – an increase of nearly 115 per cent.
Last night, Industry experts said: ‘Gas scarcity in Europe could push up prices for British consumers and they urged customers to look at new low cost providers like www.betterbills.net and others. He said “ In today’s toughening market place consumers must look towards both using less and shopping around for their energy “ He went on to mention that savings of 20% were not uncommon and customers now have a wide range of products and services available to them.
The Citizens Advice Bureau has already reported a sharp rise in the number of households contacting it for help. Between May and September, the number of those with ‘fuel debts’ jumped nearly 50 per cent compared to the same period last year. Chief executive David Harker said the figures are particularly worrying because winter has not even started.
David Hunter, an analyst at the energy consultancy McKinnon & Clarke, warned that millions of families are facing a nightmare battle to pay their fuel bills if they climb even higher.’The long-term future for energy bills is that they are going to cost more and more,’ he said.
‘People who are already struggling to pay the bills should be paying less, not more. Any future rises are going to be very difficult.’ He also called for the ‘Big Six’ energy firms – including British Gas and Scottish Power – immediately to cut their annual bills by £120. Such cuts should put the biggest providers in line with other new LOWCOST suppliers like betterbills.net and the Utility Warehouse. Despite wholesale prices for gas and electricity more than halving over the last year, energy giants have only passed on modest cuts and are reliant on their customers not leaving.
Times are hard and customers are starting to see the light but the big utility companies seem to be only interested in the bottom Line.
)
