To wonder why we haven't had protests about the energy bills rising?

[ChubbyCaterpillar]

Where's the uproar?
I can't understand how these energy companies are allowed to make the profits they do and continue to increase their costs.
Even if the government do step in it seems like they will only support people already on the breadline. Rather than put proper caps on the bills so it helps everyone.
Do you think protests will happen? Why haven't they already?

Tbh I make decisions based on what the damage will be to us - eg not paying will only damage those not paying.

What is your plan though to stick up for yourself that will hurt billionaires / other and not you?

In 2020, before this energy crisis, over 3 million households (13.2%) were in fuel poverty. With the cost of energy quadrupling (increase of 400%), while wages are only going up on average of 3% it is mathematically inevitable that millions more have fallen into fuel poverty and yet millions more will continue to do so with each price increase.

A HOUSEHOLD IS CLASSED AS BEING IN FUEL POVERTY IF:
The household’s fuel poverty energy efficiency rating* is Band D or below and
their disposable income (after housing and fuel costs) is below the poverty line.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1056842/fuel-poverty-factsheet-2020.pdf

Once you start insulting people who disagree with you it’s a fair bet that you have run out of rational arguments.

The campaign is about stopping paying your bills. “Joining” it without doing this is nearly as pointless as joining it and doing it.

That’s nice. No data to back up the claim being made though, or have I wandered into a thread where people make absurd claims and then just post things that don’t back them up?

For those citing France keeping price rises low, they get 70% of their electricity from their nuclear plants. Also, the share value of EDF has plummeted as they keep price increases to 4% (so they're basically wearing the increase) which impacts pension funds of millions of ordinary people.

Rioting doesn't help anyone - riots are usually taken over by thugs, groups with suspect agendas and it's generally small businesses that suffer from trashed premises and looted stock.

Peaceful protest, absolutely. Riots - no thanks.

Quite agree OP. Or protests about the racist, lying, heartlessness morons running the country too!

The claim was that millions will be unable to pay their energy bills due to lack of money. Fuel poverty is literally a measure of financial inability to pay energy bills. In 2020 over 3 million households were in fuel poverty- as in unable to heat their homes and/or have hot water because they can’t afford their energy bills. This number will have only increased dramatically given the huge surge in energy prices and tiny increase in wages. When people can’t pay their energy bills they either go into debt or they self disconnect (don’t top up the prepayment meter). Last winter already people froze to death in their homes due to fuel poverty one was a mum who kept the heat off while her 4 DC were at school. They came home to find her dead of the cold. But you go ahead and pretend this isn’t a crisis. You’re a worse denier than the government who has at least found £650 to help low income households with their energy bills.

It’s the opposition that the EHRC found to be racist.

The government is the one with a man of Indian heritage in the leadership election, and a non-white Home Secretary and Attourney General.

Just signed up to enough is enough, we need people power !

Martin Lewis has not told people to cancel their direct debits! This is an idiotic idea.

Why ?? I've never paid by dd they will get what I can afford.

Whether not paying leads to a prepayment meter is arguable & how many pre meters and staff to install them do you think are in the UK ?

Plus all the court time required to get a warrant to access to install

Why was the Poll Tax was withdrawn....

But what isn't is arguable is many people simply will not have enough money to pay a energy bill, regardless if they want too or not.

Many people are on 20 to 25k p.a. and are not entitled to any working benefits, after housing & travel work costs, they barely have left what bills are predicted to be.

The help offered was for a price cap of 1900, not one of 4300.

then there is general inflation.

@Discovereads

The claim was that millions will be unable to pay their energy bills due to lack of money.

No it wasn’t. You can still read what was written. And why are you lying about me pretending that it isn’t a crisis?

That’s nice. No data to back up the claim being made though, or have I wandered into a thread where people make absurd claims and then just post things that don’t back them up?

I was wrong earlier. The UK owe £1.3 billion to energy companies at the moment due to people not being able to keep their current accounts above zero.

Martin Lewis and a number of energy spokespeople have already been on the news to highlight how bad things are already and set to get much worse.

But not to worry as an internet randomer with no discernible qualification doesn't recognise the issue so must be right.

Interesting post, I can’t think of a mechanism that already exists where you can reach people just above UC

I feel like it’s UC or everyone but maybe I’ve missed a way

Because the Tories have criminalised peaceful protest so you can go to jail for complaining. The millions of people who voted Tory have led us to this.

You can identify other low earners through the tax system, and taper the support so its not an all or nothing payment

I’m really worried about it. My latest quarterly bill the other week was just over £500. We are super careful about turning switches off, using economy programs etc so I don’t see any way to cut usage further than we already are, we already stopped tumble drier use by 95%, lowered temps that we wash stuff at, we keep a cool house anyway, usually termostat is set to around 12-15 in the winter but this year will be tough, hoping it’s not a very cold one. Our HA home is very poorly insulated.

what scares me more is all the people saying they won’t pay or simply can’t pay, no doubt they’ll raise prices further to make up for that, that’s scary.

·
Another day and another thread calling for riots 🙄If you don’t pay you will just ruin your credit rating and be taken to court/be cut off. No one of going to supply for free 🤪''

And if you don't have the money to pay then what ???

As for the 3 million in 2020 who can’t pay their fuel bills, the evidence is is increasing is in the news. As I stated, when people can’t pay their fuel bills they either go into debt or they self disconnect.

Household energy debt is currently at an all time high of £1.3 billion, and affecting 6 million household.
www.gbnews.uk/news/household-energy-debt-at-all-time-high-ahead-of-expected-bill-hike/350714

4.5 million households are on prepayment meters. Currently energy providers are reporting that 5-7% of these households have self-disconnected as in have no gas and no electricity in their homes due to being unable to top up their prepayment meter. That’s 225,000- 315,000 households. And it is summer. Do you really think these households will be able to magically put money on their meters in the winter when they can’t even afford the low energy demands of summer? No. What is most likely to happen is even more households will be unable to keep up with the higher costs once summer turns to winter and stop topping up their prepayment meter.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60291912

@Getoff Your suggestion would cost many billions, more than what it has cost France.

This crisis may last many years, Putin & his successor could eventually switch supplies to China/India and permanently stop gas/oil to Europe.

We just don't know but it would be unwise to think gas prices will fall back, they were super high before the Ukraine war.

Expanding the benefits system and giving a few '00s is not sustainable nor is it be enough.

France has also limited rises to business, vital and means inflation can be so much lower as we go forward, helping people even more.

We probably need some sort of Europe wide nationalised energy system.

I’m not the one lying here is the quote history:

Caminante · Today 07:51
But...you also can't think that it's acceptable that millions of people won't be able to afford to have the heating on this winter do you?

ImWell · Today 08:12
Have you any data to back that claim up?

🤨

Your suggestion would cost many billions, more than what it has cost France.

Explain why? Cost who? There would be some redistribution from better of to worse off people, and no net cost to the government.

Your idea is a one way trip to recession land, and a severe one at that.

Its not the poor who are buying goods/services throughout leisure/retail/tourism and any other sectors.

Jack up the prices for the middle/rich and they will continue to rein in discretionary spending. Companies make less money as people are spending much less. What happens then is obviously jobs will start to go in order to attempt to limit loses.

And guess the people who tend to work those jobs in the 1st place? Typically the poorer sections of society, so they lose out in the end anyways.

It literally benefits no one other than maybe those who refuse to work at all.

We're in a bind, here. Ultimately, this is a problem of inadequate supply. Gas is a global commodity, and ever increasing amounts of money are chasing a shrunken supply pool.

As much as I'd like the government to shoulder the burden of cost here (or force the providers / suppliers to shoulder some of it via confiscation of profits), I actually do think it is very important to try to preserve the price signal here.

Sky high prices do two very important things - they encourage more supply, because companies can make a killing in this market.

Two, they discourage use. Non-productive uses of energy become less appealing at these prices.

The price mechanism is absolutely vital in raising supply and reducing demand, which is what will ultimately reduce the price.

BUT we have to mitigate the impact of this on people and important industries. The question is, how do we mitigate that impact (particularly on the most vulnerable), without completely obscuring the price signal (which is what will ultimately fix the problem).

About £40 per household then?