Soaring energy prices now £6k a year

[JulyDreams]

Sorry if there is another thread on this? Daily Mail have just released an article to say the annual prices are now 'set' to apparently go up to £6k from spring 2023. How is everyone coping?

but perhaps it's overall population control as we have a huge issue with an ageing population, a care crisis & an nhs that is crumbling

@onthefencesitter first they came...

. I wish they would wake up now that a lot of them would be the Nouveau poor, would that be too much to ask

They won't wake up though, it's all the fault of the benefit & now furlough scroungers & the people coming on the boats.

I used to say that you would be affected by the tories' experiments with disaster capitalism and 'free' market economics unless you earned over £100k a year. People used to laugh at me. With £6k per annum energy bills and rising, I don't think this estimate is that far off. It's not just about whether you have an extra £500 per month. Even if you had a small well insulated house, it would still affect you if you sent your child to state school (higher energy bills lower budget), used the NHS (ditto) as well as all the corresponding knock on effect...

I'm really worried about it and I'm not poor. I am mortgage free and take home £48k a year.

At the beginning of this year, I went through my bank statements and cancelled as much stuff as I could (I managed to save £250/month). I'm cycling to work and have stopped buying organic food. In spite of doing this, I'm now spending the same amount I was at the beginning of the year. I do feel like my efforts to save were for nothing.

If there was an organised protest I would be there in a heartbeat. I don't know how much of this is the government's fault. I read somewhere this week that France will struggle more in the long-term as a result of their decision to not raise prices more. In saying this, our government are so complacent, I think we need all of them to be gone.

@DeborahVance Yes, I pay monthly via DD which is around £10-11, can’t afford to pay a years upfront but I don’t really notice the DD going out. Considering I get 8 medications per month (at a minimum), it’s well worth it.

Electricity cap is 28p? I’m being charged 31p.

I thought the same, and how horrible it would be if I were able to gloat, but it turns out my imagination was shit because I never thought it would be this bad.

I think it's another housing market prop, huge bills to encourage/force the pensioners who tend to have the larger family homes to downsize as they can't afford the heating bills.*

But moving house is not something people can do instantly...especially if there is nowhere suitable to move to. And who is going to want to upsize when mortgages, fuel bills and everything else is going up in price...?

I suppose people in council houses that have more bedrooms than they need may be encouraged to downsize. Otherwise, the housing market is unlikely to be very busy this winter.

To be honest, nobody, unless disabled, should be claiming unemployment benefit anyway. There are jobs out there for people who want to work.

Well if it keeps going up and up I'll just be in debt then.

I have a DS 3 and twins due in December and I for one will not be seeing my babies go cold. They can threaten to cut us off is they really want but they can't just cut off your gas and electric without offering you ways to pay.. and they have to offer payment methods/paybacks first. Even if you offered £10 a month. It's still something. That or come and put a prepayment meter in then.

They can fuck off the greedy bastards.

We locked in at £173/pcm in Feb (we were paying £96!).

Just had a look and if we were to swap tariffs now it would be £516 with Scottish Power - if the cap does raise 80-odd% in October - then we would have been looking at £900 + in October and another rise in January.

It's insane

But moving house is not something people can do instantly...especially if there is nowhere suitable to move to. And who is going to want to upsize when mortgages, fuel bills and everything else is going up in price...?

they will have to drop the price considerably if they want to shift fast I assume & plenty would be interested if prices were more in line with salaries. However I was being a bit facetious.

To be honest, nobody, unless disabled, should be claiming unemployment benefit anyway. There are jobs out there for people who want to work.

Jobs aren't one size fits all. I've seen loads of warehouse jobs available some shifts start or finish in the early hours of the morning. Given that warehouses aren't usually in town centres this would mean someone needs their own transport. Or what about zero hour contract jobs that give your shift pattern with minimal notice - that's pretty unworkable to arrange with childcare....as well as not regular income.

And I don’t think a change of government would benefit a lot of us. labour has no more idea as to what to do than the Tories. There’s a lot of people who don’t get benefits, but who will also struggle, and I really don’t think Labour care about those people. They never did before. Both parties don’t bother about the people in the middle who are neither poor, but aren’t reach either.

@Cynderella there's a thread going about this subject already.
There are no properties left to downsize to they all got snapped up when the bedroom tax came in.
And do you think it's fair to put a pensioner through the upheaval of being turfed out of their home? You do know how stressful a house move is to start with even for someone young and fit?

There are properties to downsize - I personally know of some. But should someone be forced to leave their home - no. Not just pensioners either.

I wasn't saying that pensioners SHOULD downsize, just that they may be the only people able to because there would be the demand for their property. I wasn't saying that's OK because it's not.

@YellowPlumbob do you have a prepayment certificate for yiur prescriptions? Saves you a fortune if you regularly have more than one a minth.

This is the people I worry about, these with babies to keep warm it must be so worrying.
Blankets are all well and good but breathing in cold damp air causes damage to tiny lungs it shouldn't be happening. And keeping their little faces from getting cold, at least years ago we had a coal fire in one room now there's nothing in some houses. It's just sad in this day and age.
Enjoy your babies twins are so special.

They aren't going to get their money are they. Simple as that.

@Cynderella sorry I think I misunderstood what you meant.

The thing with downsizing is you have to downsize to a property that "suits" your needs. A single person would need a one bedroom flat. There are none where I live nor in the surrounding areas. They've been bought from the council and those that weren't were already occupied. They just don't come up.
Some people in a three bed have managed to get into a two bed but still have to pay bedroom tax because there are no one beds available.

Plus in the 1970's benefits were higher proportionally, more industries were Unionised & higher pay rises negotiated for employee!
Plus now more companies need Wi-Fi, power than they ever did in the 1970's!
This is going to be a real shit storm!

@Unforgettablefire and @PinkButtercups

I had a family member who used to be a police officer. He would sometimes be called to attend homes where a baby had died in their sleep in their cots. Usually unexplained passing.
Anecdotally, the common thing he observed were the houses / bedroom was very cold; without adequate heating. I too am very worried for newborns and babies in the winter ahead.

Many of us on incomes less than yours have been doing all these for years already. Where else can I pare back?

Eh? It's summer at the moment. Your heating is off and your lighting is only on for three hours an evening from 8-11pm. Your monthly winter spend, when it's dark by 3.30pm and cold outside will be much more than the £100 you spent this month.