Surely they can’t expect us to pay 240 per month for power!

[Ellie198712]

Just read Martin Lewis’s latest email and it’s predicting average bills of £2900 per year!! Surely the government will need to step in and subsidise this cost. Our current bill is about 100 per month, and this just seems untenable for the vast majority

Ours is about £130 a month at the moment.

I had a email to say how much it is expected to be from April and it was approx £600 a year more so approx £50 a month more.

Not terrible and we can afford it but it’s shit.

It seems to be a no brainer that the oil companies who have made and are making huge profits need to be absorbing some of the cost. There also needs to be a social tariff for those in most need. I think the cost of living crisis will be the moment when some of those who have previously had little interest in the government's approach to helping the poor will start to look at what is actually being done to help them. Previously, people have only been concerned about property and stamp duties etc. We now are all concerned about our bills in a way that before was something only the poor worried about.

@TwoBigNoisyBoys

I can’t believe how it’s just been ‘accepted’. How are people going to manage?

I’m on sick leave from work with breast cancer, I have no idea when I’ll be well enough to go back to work. I already pay £177 per month and EDF have advised me my bill is estimated to increase by £980 per year I’m worried sick. I already sit without the heating on, just blankets and a hot water bottle during the day. I don’t know what I’m
going to do 😭

I'm sorry to hear about the breast cancer & the misery on top of that with the unaffordability of heating x

Apparently the heated blankets are really good & very cheap to run, coukd you look into getting one of those?

I don't think people have just accepted it, not really, but what can people actually DO? It is what it is - isn't it?

Bit of a shame we spent ridiculous money on Covid.

Debt to GDP now above 100%

A NI rise coming up soon.

This is going to affect the whole economy. Energy, food and fuel prices all increasingly significantly at the same time will mean that people will cut back on the non-necessities. Theatres are already struggling to sell tickets - businesses like gyms and restaurants will suffer because people won't be able to afford them. An increase of £100+ per month in bills will be many people's holiday budget so holiday companies will suffer too. It's all quite depressing. Many people will just be working to pay the bills - it'll be like turning the clock back 100 years :(

@HereComesSpringAgain

£240 a month is equal to our sky tv and mobile phone costs

so its a choice we will need to make

At least you have things you can cut back on. The poorest can only afford essentials, so have next to nothing to cut back on. It will genuinely be a choice between heating and eating for many.

I don't have Sky or anything and my phone is £7 pm sim only. When my current deal comes to an end, I'll have to consider whether or not I can afford to run my car.

My current fixed rate doesn't end until Nov 23, but I can't really see prices coming down by then. Or ever, tbh, they don't tend to.

A lot of people won't be able to afford bills and will be forced onto prepayment meters.

It will be goodbye to huge american style fridges, people will want smaller energy efficient ones and will end up having to shop more often because they have limited space to store stuff.
You will get companies coming in offering low standing charges with higher unit prices and lots of people will seriously slash their usage - far fewer electronics, a lot of careful turning off lights, goodbye tumble drier

It's not just domestic fuel costs that are increasing, it's the same for manufacturers, retailers, logistics... absolutely everything relies on electricity.

Its going to go even higher now they have announced today they are banning Russian oil. Previous to this US only had a 36% rise in their energy prices, ours is 142% . Oil is through the roof already , people can't afford to buy even 500 litres and they need it to heat their water.

@tttigress

Erm, but if the government subsidies the people who pays? The tax payer. Who is the tax payer? The people!!

This is so true. People often forget than WE will be finding US getting it at a reduced rate

99victoria many of us all read work to just pay the bills and don’t have much or anything they can cut.

I’ve just upped our direct debit from £150 to £240 a month in prep as predicted by British Gas. I’m just so glad we decided to extend rather than buying the much bigger house last year! We would have been screwed!

They can have the rise I will have to pay it begrudgingly however what they can;t have is
Me and my family spending money in local take a ways or restuarents
Me and my family spending in the local shopping center
Me and my family supporting local hairdressers
Me and my family not supporting cinemas.theme parks,bowling alleys,museums, swimming pools etc
Me and my family booking holidays and weekends away
Me and my family buying newspapers,magazines,flowers etc
Now I may seem spolit but there will be many me and my famliies about all having to do the same and this means job losses and business closures,house repossessions then where will we all be ? The list for universal credit will be the only thing thriving in this country if something substantial is not done.

Oh and all those lockdown hot tubs will be going too.

I think there's going to be more and more green living and not by choice.

Ours went from £250 last year to nearly £400 this month. We're very frugal with electric and gas but single glazing doesn't help.

If your energy provider offers you a decent deal, I would fix your rates as the market is crazy at the moment.

I fixed with Eon yesterday. New tariff will start at the end of April. It's about £75 a month more than my current fix, and about £15 a month more than the Standard variable rate option, but I don't use much over the summer, and it will protect against a rise in the October energy cap, which could potentially be pretty substantial.

Oh and lets not forget the pets ..THE must have covid pandemic accessory.Thats going to turn out well when theres no money to feed them or take care of them at the vets...

My electric only house is £300+ per month as it is now. Come April it will rise 70%. That is over £500 per month on power and we have froze in this house all winter with just one radiator.
I don’t think my rent is extortionate. When we were looking it seemed to be pretty average but £2000 per month on rent and power is extortionate.

I wish for £240 per month bills.

@TwoBigNoisyBoys have you thought about a heated throw? Hope you’re fully recovered soon x

I’m currently in hospital, my legs and hips have finally given up. I’m on benefits. When I get out of here my bill will go from £81.00 per month to £146.00 per month. That’s a significant chunk of said benefits. It will be gas fire when my caters pop in and blankets the rest of the time. It’s scary.
I too remember the 70’s with power cuts et al. I also remember us young ones thinking it a great adventure, then my father took me round to deliver hot meals and flasks of water to the elderly. They were frightened. I don’t look back with a touch of nostalgia, I look back as I look forward, with fear and apprehension. I am one of those elderly folk now.

@riceuten

You are not being unreasonable, but the government will not step in. They will just ask us to lump it. And morons will STILL vote for them

Just how different would a different government be though? All parties have broadly the same policies on energy generation, and Russian sanctions have cross-party support (rightly so).

Do we think they’ll be a housing market crash if people are forced to downsize?

Of course they can. 😂 They can also force you to spend tons on fuel for your car, and more money on food when prices rise, and more money on houses etc. Of course they can force this, and not care that you're struggling, and keep raising prices while doing nothing to stop it, mainly because your politicians are shareholders in these companies.

Stop thinking they care! They don't! None of them do.

*i'm a 70's child

i remember the constant power cuts
i remember the drought with no water in the taps
i remember food being a lot scarcer than it is now
i remember having just one coal fire as home heating*

Do you remember the excess winter deaths?

If the gov subsidise it, we'll be paying for it anyway! We need to target the price rises and stop it going up astronomically in the first place