Energy to be unaffordable 'in three years'
More misery is being poured onto households that have seen energy bills increase by over 100 per cent in the last 10 years.
Comparison website uSwitch.com has forecasted that energy bills could hit £1,500 by 2015, forcing three quarters of the UK to go without adequate heating, with a third being forced to turn off radiators completely. As well as this, the site has predicted that by 2018 prices could have surpassed £2,700, causing an even bigger pull on the UK’s pockets.
According to research from uSwitch, Britain is just three years away from an energy affordability crisis as prices continue to grow, despite promised cuts from all of the big six energy companies. Currently, the average energy bill of £1,252 is just £248 short of the ‘tipping point’ that would push many into enforcing energy cuts and rationing around the home.
The research suggests that after this level of price is met, energy could still increase in price and potentially rise to £2,766 a year by 2018. Should this happen a staggering nine in ten of us would have to ration energy use, with over half saying heating would need to be turned of entirely to make ends meet.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com has said that the £1,500 tipping point would mean consumers will be ‘forced to compromise on their comfort’.
“Time is running out - if pricing trends continue we will hit ‘crunch point' in less than three years and that is without factoring in the cost of current energy policy”, she added.
The current energy policy is looking at ways in which renewable energy sources can be used to sustain the energy we use; however, there is a worry that the cost of investigating these energy sources could fall on consumers.
