According to the newest figures released by Money Supermarket, it is estimated that seven of every ten consumers in the UK will need to use credit, savings or overdraft protection to pay for the rising cost of energy.
Inflation is already hitting most households and government cuts are making matters even worse for those struggling to cope with price increases. According to the latest figures released, gas has gone up 17.4% whilst electricity has risen by 10.8% this year alone. This adds up to an annual overall increase of £1,287 being spent just on utilities.
Scott Byrom, who is the head of the energy department at Money Supermarket states that he is happy to see that government is finally trying to do something about the rising costs of energy. Even though government and energy providers are meeting, Byrom urges consumers not to get their hopes up too quickly as any steps taken will be slow and that any decreases in prices will most likely not be evidenced any time in the near future.
According to their research (Moneysupermarket.com) at least 71% of Brits will be using their credit cards, overdraft or savings accounts to pay for the rising cost of energy. In fairness to the energy providers, the report released by the Telegraph does state that providers are raising their prices because the cost of wholesale energy is going up as well.
However, on the other side of the fence, Ofgem is reporting that these energy companies are making a profit of £125 per household and that is the highest level of profit seen in this sector in the past seven years. Energy providers/suppliers dispute these figures as flawed but that doesn’t change the fact that UK consumers are dipping into credit and savings to keep utilities on for their households.
