Almost a quarter of households will not be able to afford to pay their energy bills in October based on current forecasts, warns Citizens Advice.
Most of the 24% who will struggle to pay their bills if the energy cap rises as forecast to £3,582 in October have a household income of less than £30,000, Citizens Advice research found. And more than a third (34%) will struggle to pay their energy bills in January when the cap is forecast to soar above £4,200.
Citizens Advice's projections account for the energy rebate and Cost of Living Payments already planned by the Government. Its research shows the costs will outstrip the assistance currently offered. Figures including Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis have urged the Government to do more, quickly.
Read more: Martin Lewis slams 'zombie' Tory Government as he urges minister to wake up on energy bills
On average, those who cannot afford autumn’s predicted rise will end up almost £100 a month in debt. Citizens Advice said future support must target those who need it the most.
Alongside further interventions from the Government to help households with bills, it is calling for industry regulator Ofgem to ensure that people are protected from the most serious consequences of falling into arrears, including a suspension of forced installations of prepayment meters.
The charity also warned that rising prices will drag more people into “dire circumstances”, with many of its frontline advisers already sharing reports of people who had never previously contacted Citizens Advice needing crisis support such as food bank referrals and fuel vouchers.
Its analysis suggests that more than half of those who will be in debt in October (53%) will not receive the additional cost-of-living payments targeted at those on benefits, disabled people and low-income pensioners.
With future price rises rapidly outpacing the value of the energy rebate, it warned that further action will be needed to stop more people falling into debt.
In July, the charity saw record numbers of people who were unable to top up their prepayment meter – the fifth time the record has been broken this year – while its web page on help with rising living costs was viewed more than 70,000 times – an increase of 40% on its previous record in March 2020 when the country went into the first national coronavirus lockdown.
Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: “Every single day at Citizens Advice we’re already helping people in the most heart-breaking circumstances, trying to scrape together enough to feed their kids and keep the lights on. This will get far, far worse unless the Government acts.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that skyrocketing prices will swallow up all of the help that has been announced so far.
“Every day that goes by without a plan is another day without reassurance for people who desperately need it. We urgently need further support, otherwise we risk a winter of despair for millions.”
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