National Energy Action (NEA)’s recent polling with YouGov of adults in GB found that 49% of all respondents said they were likely to ration their energy use in the coming months.
This comes as energy bills are to rise for a third consecutive time from 1 April, with the energy price cap increasing 6.4% to £1,849 a year for a typical household.
The data found that those with certain health conditions were more likely to expect to ration their energy. This included: arthritis, 62%, asthma, 58%, heart condition, 57%, and mental health conditions, 58%.
Adam Scorer, chief executive of NEA, said: “Energy bills rising for a third time in a row is another blow for the millions of households struggling with the cost of energy and other essentials. A low-income household spending £1,849 a year or more on energy is not affordable.
“We already see the impacts of sustained high bills – total energy debt is at record levels and rising, and people have been rationing their heating to dangerous levels and going without essentials. The additional support the government will put in place this winter will provide some welcome respite for some, but it won’t be deep enough to offset the impacts of these ongoing unaffordable bills.”
This is three years on from May 2022, when the cap level was £1,971 for a typical household and each one was given £400 of energy bill support, alongside one-off payments for those on certain benefits. NEA said that from April 2025, the price cap will be £120 less than this, with no energy bill support to help until later this winter. In the meantime, it noted that some parts of Britain pay much higher than average energy bills, including in North Wales and the Mersey.
This rise comes soon after the announcement that Personal Independence Payments (PIP) eligibility will be scaled back. According to disability charity Scope, this could push a further 700,000 disabled households into poverty.